Ari LeVaux is a patriot, mayonnaise abuser, mother lover, and native Montanan from Massachusetts. He writes Flash in the Pan, a nationally syndicated food column, which first appeared in the Missoula Independent.
Whatever the context, the job of the pickle is always the same: to add a burst of acid with which to cut through the richness of the bite, like a sip of wine in a mouthful of cheese.
It all comes together into a thin, reddish brown soup that is full of tang and spice, balanced against the savory undertones of that rich lentil water.