PUY*****Laura Calder's French Lentils with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

By Unblond1

19/02/11 - Had with three breakfast sausages from Tarini's, sauted then finished in a bit of white wine - yummy - even Danny only left a couple of bites of lentils in the bowl

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup du Puy lentils
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 chunk of onion (with ends on)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Small splash balsamic vinegar
• Walnut or hazelnut oil, to taste
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 ounce walnuts, toasted and chopped (don't leave these or the goat cheese out, they are very good)
• 1 ounce goat cheese, broken into pinches

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from foodnetwork.ca

Preparation

Step 1

* *Put* the lentils in a saucepan with the onion, bay leaf and thyme. *Pour* over chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat until tender, about 30 minutes. All the liquid should be absorbed by the time they’re done, if not simply *drain* off any excess. *Cover* and set aside until serving time.

* *Heat* the olive oil in a sauté pan and *fry* the shallots until soft. *Add* the garlic for one minute, then *deglaze* the pan with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Add the lentils and season with salt and pepper and a splash of the oil to keep moist and cook a few minutes to warm through. *Add* the nuts and mix well. Plate and *scatter* over the pinches of cheese and a bit of Malden Salt. *Serve* warm.

N.B. The first time I made this, time got away on me and the lentils spent about 10-15 minutes in the frying pan. They wound up a bit on the "crispy" side, which was wonderful for both!

*NUTRITION:*

* Calories - 357
* Fat - 22.1
* Sat Fat - 3.7
* Carbs - 23.4
* Fibre - 6.4
* Protein - 15.2