I’ve had this book for ages and enjoyed the stories surrounding the recipes. However, this is the first time I have cooked from it. I love lentils, I love how the French prepare lentils and I love a good poached or fried egg (with a runny yolk!) so here is my take on Elizabeth Bard’s recipe. It makes a delicious, healthy, mid-week meal.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium Carrots, diced
- 4-5 small Shallots, diced
- 2.5 cups Puy lentils (dried)
- 6 cups CHicken stock
- 1 can Whole tomatoes (drained), chopped
- 1 cup Dry white wine
- Handful parsley chopped
- 1 Bay leaf
- Pepper and salt to taste
- Handful Cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
- In a large saucepan or stockpot heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add the shallots and carrot and saute for 5 to 10 minutes until the onion is translucent.
- Add the lentils and then stir to coat with the oil.
- Add stock, tomatoes, wine, parsley, bay leaf and some pepper to taste.
- Simmer on a low heat with a lid slightly ajar until the lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (about 1 hour).
- Add in the cherry tomatoes in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
- Serve with a poached egg on top and a sprinkle of sea salt. I also highly recommend a glass of white wine and piece of bread on the side!
This one is truly delicious and a great winter dish. We’ve made it once before with rosemary lamb sausages and a stronger beef stock and I found it a bit overpowering. I think this version is a good balance of flavours. If you’re not a sausage fan, the lentils on their own are delicious. If you’re vegetarian, you could omit the bacon and perhaps add carrot or celery to give the lentils added depth.
I am a huge fan of puy lentils (and lentils generally). I’m trying to become more adventurous and experiment more with different grains, seeds, beans and lentils. I added chopped kale while the lentils were cooking, and topped with cherry tomatoes at the end. You could try broccoli, spinach or silverbeet in place of the kale. Although there are tomatoes cooked into the lentils, I think the cherry tomatoes added a nice sweetness and lightness to an otherwise very hearty dish.
Unfortunately I can’t credit the original version of this receipe – J transcribed it into a notebook some time ago and didn’t make a note of where he took it from.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 8 Beef sausages
- 1 large Brown onion, diced
- 4 Bacon rashers, chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 2 cups Dried puy (green) lentils, rinsed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 cups Stock (I used beef)
- 4 Tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
- bunch Kale, chopped
- handful Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 180*.
- In a large dutch oven or casserole dish (that you can use on the stove) heat the oil over a medium-high heat.
- Cook the sausages, turning, for 5 minutes until browned all over. Remove from the casserole dish and set aside.
- Add the onion, bacon and garlic to the casserole dish.
- Cook over medium-high for 5 minutes or until soft. Be careful not to burn your onion or garlic.
- Add the lentils and stir to coat in onion mix.
- Add the bay leaves and stock.
- Bring to a boil then add the sausages back into the dish.
- Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove from oven and add tomatoes and kale. Add some more liquid if necessary.
- Cover. Cook for another 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.
- Discard bay leaves. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with cherry tomatoes.
This recipe is adapted from one of my favourite cookbooks – Amanda Hesser’s “Cooking for Mr Latte”. She calls it “Single Girl Salmon” and it is an example of how easy and satisfying it can be to cook yourself real meals – even if you’re only cooking for one. This one is on high rotation in our kitchen, because it’s quick, easy and tastes deliciously decadent with a glass of wine. The beauty of it is that it’s actually rather healthy! I actually credit this dish with my newly discovered taste for lentils – particularly puy lentils, the tiny little green lentils from France.
To me, this is the ultimate in comfort food – hearty and filling whilst still being healthy. It requires some thought and time in the kitchen, but certainly not hours – you can have it on the table in under 1 hr. It’s beautiful with a glass of wine (white is my preference), and even if you’re dining alone, you can take the time to enjoy this fabulous meal. Just because you are on your own for dinner, you don’t need to vegetate on the coach, scooping up icecream with potato chips, straight from the tub. You deserve a fresh, fragrant and soul-satisfying meal!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Puy lentils (French green lentils)
- 1 clove Garlic
- 1 Bay leaf
- pinch Sea salt
- pinch Black pepper
- 2 tbsps Olive oil
- 1 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 large Shallot, chopped
- pinch Sugar
- Salmon fillet, cut from centre
- 1 tsp Parsley, chopped
- Lemon wedge
Directions
- Rinse lentils. Add to a small saucepan, together with the garlic clove (just crushed with the flat of your knife) and bay leaf.
- Cover with water up to about 2-3cm above the lentils. Put the lid on, slightly askew to allow the steam to escape.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so its is at a simmer.
- Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Drain the lentils and put in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in 1tbs of olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Gently stir through the lentils, so the seasonings blend well.
- Taste the lentils - you want them to be quite tangy. Add more lemon juice if needed.
- Place a small frypan over a medium heat. Add 1 tbs of olive oil and add the chopped shallots. Add a pinch of sugar and stir the shallots while they cook. The shallots should end up soft and caramelized. Transfer to a plate.
- Place the frypan back on the stove over a medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt.
- Cook the salmon skin-side down in the pan. Cook according to taste - I like my salmon quite well done, even though that isn't terribly fashionable! After a few minutes, flip over and cook on the other side.
- To serve, spoon the lentils onto the plates. Lay your salmon on top and then sprinkle on the shallots.
- Garnish with parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
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03.07.11 | 
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