I like the idea of lentils—they’re packed with fiber and protein and are incredibly inexpensive, but in practice I often find them to be a little bland, no matter how I cook them. That is until Carla introduced me to cookbooks by Deborah Madison (aka “the Julia Child of vegetarian cooking”). I love the whimsical style of her writing, and the easy, creative recipes in her book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone turn out so well, but I still couldn't bring myself to try out dishes from the lentil chapter. When I snatched up a copy of her cookbook The Savory Way at a used bookstore, I finally went looking for a little lentil redemption…
Eureka! This recipe for lentils cooked in red wine transformed my bag of brown, dried Goya lentils into something bright, tangy, and full of deep flavor. I made a big batch and ate some on toast, some topped with scallions and a fried egg (shown above), and some I even froze some for a week and reheated later to serve alongside our muffin-pan potato gratins.
I made a few tweaks from the recipe to account for what I had around (and to reduce a bit of the butter), so here’s a copy of what I cooked up. My girl Deborah suggests serving it with fresh chopped parsley on top which would be great!
Red Wine Lentils
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- A few pinches of dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine (I had just 1.5 cups, so I diluted it with vegetable broth)
- 1 ½ cups water
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (red wine vinegar would work, too)
Directions
Rinse the lentils well, cover them with hot water, then set them aside while you chop and prep. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a large pot or straight-sided skillet over medium, add shallots, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots turn golden brown. Stir in tomato paste, then add wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Drain the lentils and add them to the skillet along with the water and a few dashes of salt. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.
From: megan | 1/9/11 at 1:49 pm
Are the proportions correct on this recipe (esp. Lentils)? I made this last night with twice as many lentils (because it seemed like a lot of liquid for the amount of lentils) and it still came out very soupy. Great flavor, but too much liquid. Please help because I'd love to make it again.
From: serges Guenette | 4/8/13 at 11:59 am
I use one cup lentils, one cup chicken broth and one cup red wine. Comes out great. I use the oven to cook lentils then finisn in the frying pan on low heat. Try it you will like it.