What do you do at 8:30 am on a Sunday, when you have six kids camped out in your T.V. room, still sleeping from staying up late the night before from a birthday slumber party? You don’t wake them! Instead, you sneakily get your morning coffee and turn on the T.V. oh-so-quietly to see what’s on the cooking shows. And if you’re lucky, you happen upon Jamie Oliver and his T.V. show “Food Escapes” as he travels around the world, visiting amazing destinations, and cooking awesome food from those regions on location. On this particular day, he was covering the French Pyrenees and their cuisine, and thus inspired me to make this dish Lentils with Spinach and Herbs.
What Type of Lentil?
This dish calls for “Puy” lentils, after the “Le Puy” region in France. These lentils are also referred to as French lentils, or green lentils, though I’m not sure why the latter. They look pretty brown to me.
And despite being French in style, this dish is simple to make. The most outlandish item it calls for is “bouquet garni” which simply means that herbs are bundled together with a little twine and added to the broth for overall flavor. For this recipe, you need a stalk of celery, some thyme, flat-leaf parsley, and a bay leaf.
I didn’t have celery on hand, so I when it came time to sautee the veggies, I added celery seed which was a great substitution.
When the veggies are soft and translucent, add broth, lentils, a cup of potatoes, and the bouquet garni.
This cooks about an hour (45 minutes or so), adding more broth if it gets a little too dry. When the potatoes are soft, mash them up a bit so they are added to lentils to make them creamier. When almost ready to serve, add in spinach. I added a couple of handfuls, and a little red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serving Suggestions
- Sliced kielbasa sausages
- Mini Potato Bites
I made this dish midweek amidst the hustle and bustle of homework, lacrosse practice, and tutoring. Even though it took 45 minutes to make, it didn’t need much tending, so I could help the kids with their homework and do other things around the kitchen.
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Ingredients
- 2 large carrots peeled and finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 2 celery stalks trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 onions peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups Puy lentils
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 potato peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- sea salt and pepper
- sour cream or creme fraiche
Bouquet Garni
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 small bunch fresh thyme
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- twine
Instructions
- Cook the chopped carrots, celery, and onions in a Dutch oven over medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables have softened.
- Make the bouquet garni by tying together the celery thyme, parsley, and bay leaf with twine.
- Once the vegetables are ready, add the lentils, the stock, the diced potatoes, and add the bouquet garni.
- Occasionally stir the lentils, keeping an eye on them and stirring to prevent from burning. Cook until the lentils are soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes.
- When the lentils are finished, remove the bouquet garni, roughly chop the spinach, and stir into the lentils cooking everything for a couple of minutes more.
- Season the lentils with salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Stir again to mix together.
- Serve warm with a little of creme fraiche spooned into the dish.
Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver’s cookbook, “Food Escapes.”
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