Friday, February 13, 2009

Herbed Lentils

I spotted this recipe on The Kitchn recently and it sounded easy, and relatively light so I thought I would give it a try. I am constantly looking for things like this to bring to work and I have really come to embrace lentils in the last year. It's a pretty straightforward recipe and then I went to taste it and realized it was almost exactly like a recipe I made months ago which was a warm lentil salad with sausage. I enjoyed these herbed lentils, but I think the sage overpowered the dish a bit. I think I have mentioned before that I am not the biggest fan of raw sage and because the sage's contact time with the heat is so brief, you really can taste a lot of it. The rosemary is a pretty strong flavor so if I were to make this again, I would probably intensify the flavors of Dijon and balsamic in the dressing because they got a little lost here.

Hooray, we are almost at another weekend, and it's a long one! Do you guys have plans for Valentine's Day?



Herbed Lentils
(Adapted from The Kitchn)

1 cup lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 slices bacon, chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs rosemary
5-6 sage leaves
2 sprigs thyme
Small handful parsley

For the dressing:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash and rinse the lentils. Put in a small saucepan and cover with water. Cover and simmer over low heat until just cooked and tender - about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the bacon in a heavy pan over medium heat until done. Remove and drain on paper towels. Drain most of the fat out of the pan, but leave a little and slowly cook the garlic and shallots until soft and golden. Finely chop all the herbs and cook them slowly with the garlic at the end.

Toss the bacon and herb and garlic mixture with the lentils. Whisk the dressing ingredients together and toss with the lentils too, tasting and adjusting as you go.

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sage can be a little strong but the dish looks great.

I think for Valentine's we are having dinner at home (I haven't decided what yet) and stopping for chocolate at Vosgues Haut Chocolate earlier in the afternoon.

I love their chocolate and it's a great excuse to splurge on it.

Diana said...

Mmmm I love lentils! I really need to cook with them more. I still want to try your lentil pasta dish too!

Erica said...

Yay for lentils! I really have come to love them lately as well :) Dish looks beautiful! I'm not a huge sage person either

Donna-FFW said...

The lentils look fantastic. I love them and am always looking for new ways to try them. I am soo trying this!

The Duo Dishes said...

The dressing sounds the best. Very versatile for lots of things too.

Joie de vivre said...

This sounds really healthy!

Reeni said...

Cooking sage seems to mellow it out a lot. These look delicious, lots of great flavors like bacon and garlic, yum!

Heather said...

i love lentils so much!! these sound delicious!!

veggie belly said...

Lentils are so good just on their own. With all those herbs thrown in, this is heaven!

Alicia Foodycat said...

I think that looks wonderful. A bit of cheese or a hardboiled egg and that would be such a good lunch for work. You've given me ideas...

Meg said...

I just bought some lentils! I will have to try this!

Anonymous said...

YUM!! love lentils!

Creative Classroom Core said...

I have some dried lentils in my cupboard from when I used them to make baby food. You have inspired me to pull them out!