We had this for dinner tonight. Its our most favourite salad around here to have as a side with a vegetable pattie or if Im feeling like a bit of meat, some duck. We usually also serve a green as well; brocollini, sauteed spinach or sometimes roasted beetroot and some goat curd on the salad. It really is a taste of France and sublimely wonderful. Im not usually a fan of cooked celery, but in this dish its really beautiful and the Dijon mustard ties the whole thing together.
2 cups french (du puy)lentils - the little lovely green ones
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
8 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
2 carrots, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, (i prefer spanish), diced
thyme, as much as you like
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
red wine vinegar
olive oil
rock salt or salt flakes
Place the lentils, bay leaves, garlic, 8 cups of water and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the lentils well, discarding the water, bay leaves and garlic. Transfer the hot lentils to a large bowl. Keep warm if possible. Alternatively, you can just use a can of lentils, but make sure they are the small french ones, the Indian lentils will taste muddy and become mushy.
Make vinegarette in small jar/pot with mustard, vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to proportions you prefer. Shake well. i use about 3:1 oil to vinegar.
Fry vegetables in olive oil until they reach the firmness you prefer adding thyme about half way into cooking. When vegetables are cooked to your liking, add lentils and stir through to warm then add the vinegarette. Stir until dressing is somewhat absorbed. 'Adjust' for seasonings (i LOVE that expression, 'adjust' for seasonings sounds so competent!, LOL) using rock salt or salt flakes.The crunch of the salt really makes the final zing of this salad.No pic as i really had to draw the line at whipping out the camera in front of the family and shooting the dinner. They already think im a bit blog nutty. didnt want to confirm it.
Let me know if you make this one, love to know what others think.
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3 comments:
Those sound fantastic. I'm going to try this. :-)
Kel...
I made this salad on Saturday evening for dinner and it was divine. John, Matilda& I just loved it, Myles took a lot more convincing though I'm afraid. Actually I think he will come around to liking it, he ate it all after pushing it about on his plate for ages...he eats with his eyes, if it doesn't look like he'd like it, he won't even try it. Since John and I have been together (3 years this week and still madly in love) Myles has come around to being so much more adventurous with food. Sadly, he carries a number of legacies as a result of his Mum dying when he was very little and his Dad being very deep in grief in his toddler years. John regrets is very much and understands that it was not his fault...(he did what he had to do to survive and give his boys as normal a life as possible). We are seeing huge progress with his new foods trying...he will taste anything now, at least once, sometimes twice and he so often surprises himself by enjoying many things he never thought he would...mushrooms for example.
Anyway, what a ramble...I just meant to say thanks for the recipe, it will become a firm favourite here. John & I had it with duck breasts, Myles had a chicken breast and Matilda had a salmon fillet with hers. The salad looked lovely on all three plates...!!!
I love blogger recipes...
wow. you're committed-3 types of meat with dinner. you nice mum you. Thanks for the 'ramble', i always enjoy them, so ramble away. i always get self conscious and end up being brief. Partnering with a widow (dont like the word but have no alternative) has been a huge learning curve for me but i didnt have a step child brough into the relationship. What a special place you're in. Glad you liked te salad, we actually crave it around here.
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