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.