Braised Black Lentils Food

BRAISED BLACK LENTILS

Steps:

• Melt butter in olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Cook and stir onion, carrot, celery, and salt until vegetables are softened and onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and add thyme sprigs and pepper. Stir in lentils until well coated. Add chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, checking occasionally, until the lentils are tender and have absorbed all the liquid, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and discard thyme stems. Stir in champagne vinegar and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

BRAISED LENTILS

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add lentils and stir 1 minute. Add stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until lentils are just tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

BRAISED DUCK WITH SPICED LENTILS AND LIME ONIONS

Steps:

• Cut the duck in quarters and remove the drumstick tips. Season with 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper, rub all over with the garlic and place a piece of cinnamon stick on each quarter. Let sit at room temperature 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Transfer the duck to an ovenproof frying pan along with the chicken or other fat. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover with foil and transfer to the oven. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• When cool enough to handle, lift the duck from the fat and remove and discard the skin. Cover with a wet towel until serving time. To reserve, store the duck in the cooking fat and refrigerate up to a week.
• To reheat the duck, remove from the fat if necessary, and place on a rack in a tightly covered pan. Warm in a 325 degree oven for about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, to make the lime onions, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Saute the onions, stirring frequently, until just wilted (but not browned). Toss with the lime juice and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and l/2 teaspoon pepper. Keep warm. The onions can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. Reheat before serving.
• To serve, spread a bed of lentils on each serving plate. Top with a piece of duck and smother with the warm onions. Serve immediately.

HEALTHY BRAISED LENTILS WITH KALE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 6-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, fennel and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, broth, lentils and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring just to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes. There will be a good amount of broth left in the pot, which is fine. Turn off heat and stir in the kale and 3 tablespoons of the parsley until the kale is just wilted. Divide the lentil mixture among 4 large bowls and set aside while frying the eggs.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet. Crack the eggs into the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper; fry 2 minutes for sunny-side up, or longer if firmer yolks are desired. Top each serving of lentils with a fried egg and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

ROASTED MUSHROOMS WITH BRAISED BLACK LENTILS AND PARSLEY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• For mushrooms, trim any woody stems, and clean with a damp kitchen towel as needed. Place face down on a sheet tray lined with parchment. Season assertively with salt and pepper. Generously drizzle with olive oil, and roast until tender, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed wide sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over gentle heat. Add in the onion, fennel and garlic. Season with salt and black pepper and cook until tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes, taking care not to brown the vegetables. Add the lentils, stirring to coat them with the olive oil and vegetable mix. (Add more olive oil if needed to get a glossy coating on the lentils.) Cover just barely with cold water, add the bay leaves and fennel stalk and reseason with salt and pepper. Simmer, partly covered, until the lentils are tender but not mushy, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed, as you might for a risotto. (You want to end up with wet-juicy cooked seasoned lentils but not lentil soup.) Turn off heat, remove bay leaves and cooked-out fennel stems or fronds, and finish with a healthy drizzle of olive oil.
• For croutons, over medium heat, melt the butter in a skillet large enough to hold the diced bread in a single layer. Add in the bread, stir to coat evenly with the butter and season with salt. Toast the croutons in the butter on the stovetop, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crispy. The butter will smell browned and toasted. Remove from the heat, season with salt and black pepper and allow to cool briefly before tossing with chopped parsley and lemon zest.
• Combine lentils with the roasted mushrooms and any accrued roasted mushroom juices, scatter croutons over top and serve.

BRAISED PEAS WITH BACON, LENTILS & COD

Steps:

• To make the pea braise, heat half the olive oil in a shallow saucepan, then sizzle bacon for 5 mins until crisp. Turn the heat down, add the peas to the pan, then cover and braise for 8-10 mins until peas are tender (about 5 mins if you're using frozen peas). Add the lentils to the peas and cook until heated, then remove from heat and dress with lemon juice, seasoning and a bit more olive oil, if necessary. Just before serving, stir through the mint.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan until frothy, then add the fish, skin-side down, and cook for 4 mins until the skin is crisp and the fish almost cooked. Flip the fillets over and cook for 1 min. Divide the peas between 4 plates and top with fish. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with a wedge of lemon.

BRAISED LENTILS

Steps:

• Pre-Cooking Lentils.
• 1. Combine lentils, onion, celery, carrot, and bay leaves in a medium saucepot.
• 2. Cover with cold water to measure 1 inch above level of lentils. Simmer, uncovered until lentils are cooked and liquid has mostly evaporated, about 20-25min. Season with salt and pepper.
• Braising Lentils.
• 1. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until slightly crispy.
• 2. Add carrots, onion, leek, and garlic and gently sweat for a few minutes.
• 3. Add wine to deglaze, scraping any crispy brown bits.
• 4. Add chicken stock and lentils; bring to simmer and reduce until liquid reaches a light sauce consistency.
• 5. To finish, gently stir in butter, creme fraiche and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

LAMB WITH BRAISED LENTILS

Steps:

• Mix together the lemon rind, rosemary, sage and garlic and rub over the lamb steaks, then squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb steaks.
• Heat a large non-stick pan until hot and, over a medium-high heat, add the lamb steaks (and some of the lemon juice that has dripped off them when you transferred them to the pan) and fry for 1 minute on each side.
• Remove the lamb from the pan, and set aside.
• Add the bacon, onions, carrot and celery to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes or until they are beginning to soften.
• Add the lentils and the stock - and any of the herbs and garlic that didn't make it into the pan earlier when you were browning the lamb steaks - and, over a high heat, return the lamb to the pan and bring the mixture to the boil.
• Reduce to a low-medium heat and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are tender and most of the stock has been absorbed.
• Serve the lamb with potatoes mashed with buttermilk or low-fat milk. If the potatoes have been made ahead of time - and if you like spinach - mix through the mashed potatoes a packet of frozen spinach, which has not only been thawed, and thoroughly-drained but has also had all excess moisture squeezed from it.
• Chef's Note: Since I posted this recipe and last made this dish, I have found and posted the most fabulous recipe for vegetable stock, which is now my standard vegetable stock recipe: Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.

BRAISED LENTILS WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Pour enough cold water over the lentils, onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaves in a 3-quart saucepan to cover by three fingers. Season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat so the water is at a gentle boil and cook until the lentils are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the lentils, discard the bay leaves, and transfer to a large skillet.
• Pour in the chicken stock and olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced enough to coat the lentils, about 3 minutes. Scatter the spinach over the lentils and toss just until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve immediately.