A Grape Pickers Lunch Sausages And Lentils With Thyme And Wine Food

A GRAPE PICKER'S LUNCH! SAUSAGES AND LENTILS WITH THYME AND WINE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large casserole dish such as a Le Creuset or Dutch oven and over a medium heat fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and then add the sausages, brown them on all sides. Remove the sausages.
• Add the onion chunks and turn up the heat so that they soften and take on a crispy caramel colour. Put the sausages back into the dish and add the thyme, lentils and garlic, cook for a minute stirring all the time.
• Then add the stock or consommé and the wine. Lower the heat to a slow simmer and partially cover with a lid. Simmer for 35 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and the sausages cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then crumble in the crispy bacon just before serving, with a few more fresh thyme leaves.
• Allow people to help themselves from the pot in the middle of the table; serve with assorted salads, bread, cheese and a glass or three of wine!
• Vive la Vendange!

BRAISED LENTILS WITH GARLIC SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Slice onion into quarters; cut quarters crosswise into 1-inch chunks. Add onion, celery and garlic to pan; cook, stirring, until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not let vegetables brown (lower heat if necessary).
• Add sausage, lentils, thyme and enough water to cover. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 1 hour.
• Season with vinegar and additional salt and pepper. Discard thyme. Stir in the parsley. Serve warm, with mustard alongside.

SAUSAGES AND GREEN LENTILS WITH TOMATO SALSA

Steps:

• First things first; get your salsa on the go. Put a little olive oil into a pan, add the onion and sliced garlic, throw in the cinnamon stick and a good crumbling of chili, and fry on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and sweet. Now turn the heat up and add your red wine vinegar - it will steam and might even make you cough but this is a normal reaction! Then turn the heat down to low and add your canned tomatoes, chopped up. Simmer slowly for half an hour while you get on with your lentils.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put the lentils into a pot, cover them with water, and add the 2 whole cloves of garlic, the bay leaf, and some tied-up stems from the parsley. Simmer for around 20 minutes, making sure that you've got enough liquid covering the lentils. Toss your sausages in a little olive oil and put them in a roasting pan in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drop your broccoli into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes when the sausages come out of the oven. When done, drain in a colander and toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice and some extra virgin olive oil.
• Once the lentils are cooked, remove the parsley stems and bay leaf and pour away most of the water from the pot. Mash the garlic cloves up with a spoon, mix in with the lentils, and dress them using 4 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of good vinegar. Throw in all your finely chopped parsley leaves, mix, and season.
• Remove the sausages from the roasting pan and pour away any fat. Tip the lentils into your serving bowls. Remove the cinnamon stick from the salsa rossa and discard it, then season well to taste and spoon it over your lentils. Place 2 sausages, either sliced or whole, on top. Sprinkle with the thyme and serve with a big bowl of steaming broccoli.

SAUSAGES WITH CREAMY LENTILS

Steps:

• Preheat the grill. Grill the sausages for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until they are evenly browned and cooked through.
• Meanwhile, chop the onion, carrots and celery into small pieces. (A food processor can make short work of this.) Heat the sunflower oil in a medium pan. Fry the bacon for 2 minutes, then stir in the chopped vegetables and thyme. Cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are beginning to brown.
• Pour in the stock and simmer for 8 minutes until the carrots are tender. Drain the lentils, then stir into the vegetables. Heat through for a couple of minutes, then season and stir in the créme fraiche or cream. Serve with the grilled sausages.

LENTIL SALAD WITH GRAPES AND FETA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add lentils, reduce to a simmer, and cover; cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together red-wine vinegar, lemon juice, and honey. Whisk in olive oil. Stir in lentils, walnuts, grapes, celery, and thyme. Add feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.