Lentilles du Puy braisées et échalotes au four - Braised Puy lentils and roasted shallots (Vegan mofo 2013 XII)

I've had a couple of days away from my French mofo theme, and have been very much enjoying eating Chinese, Thai, and Italian food. Now that I've got some spice back in my system, I'm ready to think about French food again.

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

1. 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.
2. Pour in the wine and turn the heat up to high. Boil for a couple of minutes to remove the alcohol.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.