This meal was inspired by a lentils with roasted shallots recipe in Leiths Vegetable Bible. I stole the idea but winged the recipe, and this is what I came up with. It makes enough to serve six.
Lentilles du Puy braisées et échalotes au four - Braised Puy lentils and roasted shallots recipe
1.5 cups lentils
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
0.5 cup red wine
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tsp thyme
0.5 tsp rosemary
3 bay leaves
1 scant tsp Marmite
12 small shallots
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided in half
- Slice the carrots and celery into thin half moons. Warm 2 Tbsp oil in a sturdy saucepan and sauté the vegetables for 6 minutes or so over medium-high, until some colour appears.
- Pour in the wine and turn the heat up to high. Boil for a couple of minutes to remove the alcohol.
- Now add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, stock, and (washed) lentils. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes, giving the pot an occasional stir.
- While the lentils cook, pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Peel your shallots, leaving them whole. Toss in the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil, and roast for 25 minutes, or until golden on the outside and soft all the way through.
- Once the lentils are tender but still intact, stir in the Marmite.
Mash and hazelnut beans (again - they're so good!) go well with this, as you can see. Hearty and warming and delicious. The lentils have a real savoury bite, while the shallots have a sweet, concentrated flavour.
