Green Garlic Lentils with Lacinato and Carrot Confetti

This dish is cooked so it is not soupy, but rather until there is just a bit of liquid left. You can add more vegetables as you wish, and mushrooms and/or sausages turns it into a full dinner for the carnivorous set. I like it next morning heated up with a couple of farm-fresh eggs poached or basted on top.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups small green lentils, such as Puy or French, checked for dirt and stones, washed and drained

4-5 green garlic, white and palest green only, split lengthwise and sliced across finely

¾ cup carrots, cleaned and cut into a dice around the same size as the lentils (A Ben-Riner or mandolin can help here)

2-3 sprigs fresh marjoram, if you have it

2 sprigs thyme, leaves only, minced

½ cup white or red wine

4 cups vegetable stock or water

1 bunch lacinato kale, stripped and cut into ¼-inch strips, washed, drained, and squeezed hard in the bowl*

2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar (to match the wine you use) or lemon juice if you use white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil as needed for cooking

Flavorful fragrant extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on at the end

METHOD:

Heat a 2-3 quart pot over medium heat. Coat pot bottom well when hot and heat the oil. Add half the carrots and stir to coat. Cook gently 4-5 minutes until they brighten up and get a little color on the edges. Add the green garlic and stir to coat well with oil. If needed add a little more oil to prevent sticking/scorching. Lower heat if needed to keep garlic from browning. Add the herbs and cook gently until the garlic is softened and fragrant.

Add the lentils and stir to coat with oil. Add the wine and cook until it is almost entirely evaporated. Add the liquid and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a gentle simmer. Skim any foam from the surface. Cook gently for 20 minutes or so with a top on the pot slightly askew, until the lentils start to soften. The time the lentils take to soften will vary based on the age of the lentils and water hardness. If they take long enough for the liquid to evaporate, add water or stack a little at a time to prevent burning.

When the lentils are softening, but are still clearly not done, add the rest of the carrots and the kale and stir all together. Cook until the lentils and kale are tender. It is okay if the kale has a little tooth to it still, but the lentils must be tender, not mushy.

Add the vinegar or lemon juice and gently stir in, then season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes and taste for balance, making adjustments if needed. If there is a fair amount of liquid still in the pot, strain the lentils through a strainer over a bowl and put the lentils into a serving dish. Pick out the herb stems. Return the liquid to the pot, and over high heat, boil it down with a splash of oil until only a quarter cup remains and then pour it over the lentils in the bowl.

Serve the lentils, passing the extra-virgin oil for drizzling. I like to add a few shots of Tabasco sauce or chili flakes to mine, and a dollop of labne, yogurt, or crème fraiche to mine.

Chef’s Notes: * I can’t give evidence for this other than experience, but I feel if you give kales a good squeezing they will be sweeter when eaten. Just grab it in handfuls and clench your fists. Let it sit a few minutes and then eat or cook it.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen