Friday, June 1, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Lentil, Lemon and Smoked Trout Salad



Today we have the „Lemon, Lentil and Tuna Salad“ on the recipe schedule for the French Fridays with Dorie group. This lentil salad is light and fresh and a perfect dish for spring and summer.




The main stars of this salad are the “lentils du Puy”, French green lentils, known in France as poor man's caviar. The particularity of these lentils is that they are all grown in Auvergne, a rugged mountainous region in the south of France. Because they are designated by an AOC (“appellation d'origine controlee”), only lentils grown near Puy-en-Velay can be labeled as Puy lentils. The word “puy” refers to an isolated volcanic hill. When looking at the Auvergne landscape, you will will notice quite a few of these “puys”.




The first task in preparing this salad is to cook the green lentils. You can do so either by preparing them according to the package instructions or by following Dorie`s basic lentil recipe in her book. I chose to take the latter route. To prepare the lentils according to Dorie´s recipe, first you briefly cook the lentils in water, then you rise them and cook again in chicken broth to which you add an onion, garlic, carrot, celery and a bay leaf. This step is necessary in order to infuse the lentils with even more flavor.




While the lentils were cooking, I prepared the “black olive tapenade” with olives, lemon zest, rosemary, thyme, piment d`esplette, parmesan and some good olive oil (just following Dorie´s recipe for tapenade). Then it was on to the salad dressing. I used some of the tapenade that I had just prepared, grainy French mustard, red wine vinegar, walnut oil and only a bit of olive oil, lemon juice (instead of the preserved lemon) and chives (instead of the scallions)., plus salt and pepper, of course. After carefully mixing the dressing with the lentils, I refrigerated the salad for a couple of hours before serving. This step gives the different flavors a chance to develop even further.




I also baked a few rosemary flatbreads, I love this recipe from the July 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine – it is so easy to prepare. The crisp flatbread was wonderful with the lentil salad and  with some of the leftover tapenade that I served alongside the lentil salad.


Recipe for Crisp Rosemary Flatbread
(adapted from Gourmet Magazine July 2008)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups unbleached AP flour
1 tbsp chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup fruity olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon or other salt such as fleur de sel de Guérande


Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on a rack in the middle of the oven.

2. Stir together the flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center, then add the water and the oil and gradually stir into the flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead the dough gently on a work surface four or five times.

3. Divide the dough into three pieces and roll out one piece (keep the remaining two pieces covered with some plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a ten-inch round (please note that the shape of the dough can be rustic and that the dough should be rather thin).

4. Lightly brush the top of the rolled-out dough with some additional oil and scatter a few small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with some sea salt. Slide the dough round (still on parchment) onto the preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the baked flatbread (discard the parchment) to a rack to cool, then make two more rounds (one at a time) on fresh parchment.

5. Break into pieces or leave it whole and serve.




To serve the salad, I chose to replace the tuna with smoked trout – personal preference. And I put some fresh watercress on the plates, which went amazingly well with the lentil salad.

Everyone loved this dish. The salad has a wonderful mediterranean taste to it (might be different if you add the preserved lemons) it is so easy to put together and it could be used either as an entrée or as a main course. It is nice to serve flatbread, the remaining tapenade, a few drops of walnut oil and watercress alongside this dish. But, of course, it could be served in numerous different wonderful ways too. Whichever way you chose to serve it, I am sure I will be delicious. Thanks Dorie for another wonderful recipe!




To see how the other Doristas prepared the Lemon, Lentil and Tuna Salad, please click here.



27 comments:

  1. Lovely presentation! The flatbread was a nice choice to go alongside this dish.
    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you, Cher - the Naan that you baked looked delicious too!

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  2. May I just say that I really enjoy your blog. You do a wonderful job of incorporating your life and your surroundings into your posts, and your photography is always amazing. This week was no exception.

    And vielen Dank for your kind words. I am beyond grateful to be a part of such a supportive group.

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    1. Gern geschehen, Rose, ich hoffe, es geht dir bald besser!!! And thank you so much for your lovely comment, it is nice to read that you enjoy my blog, means a lot to me!

      Take care!

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  3. Beautiful! I've yet to make my salad today (I'm late again) but it's fun to see everyone's take on this recipe so far. Your rosemary flatbread looks awesome and you have me craving for that now....might have to make some! :)

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    1. Maya, you should try that flatbread - it is easy and delicious and that is sometimes exactly what I am looking for.

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  4. I have been running so late today that it is now 8:30 in the evening, and I’m just now getting to visit all my French Friday friends! Your salad looks so wonderful…Mine was cooked a bit more so my lentils were not as firm looking! Your rosemary flatbread is such a nice accompaniment and looks lovely! Great presentation!

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    1. Thanks Kathy, I am a bit sad there that your "50 most influential women..." posts have come to an end but I have no doubt that you will have other stunning posts in the near future - I am looking forward to reading them!

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  5. You made a simple lentil salad look yummy Andrea! The flatbreads look incredible, crisp and perfect. A recipe to try, really great looking! Have a nice weekend.

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    1. Thank you, Paula - everyone thought that this simple lentil salad was actually quite delicious. The flatbread is incredibly easy and fun to make!

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  6. Oh my goodness! Where to start... your presentation is amazing! What fabulous photos, and it looks so much yummier! I love your idea of smoked trout too. The rosemary flatbread looks wonderful - I'm up for anything with fresh rosemary in it anyway, I'm going to have to try it! Stunningly beautiful post.

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you, Candy - it was just one of those days, I looked at all the different bowls that I own, could not decide on one, again,...well and the recipe for the flatbread was kind of a last minute thing, it turned out to be a good choice, certainly a combination that I will make again.

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  7. What a fabulous presentation! And I love the idea of using smoked trout...yum!!! Beautiful post~

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    1. Lizzy, the smoked trout is a family favorite - the kids all like it much better than tuna and somehow I did not feel like serving the lentil salad in a bowl. Thanks for your comment and have a wonderful vacation!

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  8. Andrea, I didn't know the complete hstory of the lentils du Puy - the poor man's caviar. Interesting. Merci for expanding my legume education. Your plate was a beauty. No wonder your family enjoyed it. I love that you are sharing all the "Gourmet" Magazine recipes (may she rest in peace) with us. Over the years, I clipped and cut and turned the corner over on many but ended up cooking, baking and making very few. I miss that magazine. Once again, a lovely Post. Thank you.

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  9. Andrea, I was very interested in your paragraph about the lentils de Puy. Although I knew they were special, from the Auvergne, you filled in the knowledge gaps. Poor man's caviar. Nice. They are rather dowdy-looking, unlike caviar, which seems "snooty" to me. Your plate is beautiful. No wonder your family enjoyed this meal. I love that you are sharing all these old Gourmet magazine (may she rest in peace) recipes with us. I loved that magazine and miss it. Although I would clip and cut and turn over corners in each issue, I made very few things from it. So, you obviously spotted some gems and I will try them. A very nice Post this week.

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    1. Thank you, Mary - I have so many recipes that I still would like to try out from sooo many different sources that I sometimes think I am going crazy when I look at all those piles of recipes because I realize that I will never be able to prepare even a fraction of this evergrowing collection! Gourmet still lives "online" and I am still a faithful fan but do not always find the time to read through all the articles.

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  10. What a beautiful post...so really well done and so creative. I always enjoy reading and looking at your blog...I get a little educated by your efforts.

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    1. Thank you so much - I always have to be a bit careful not to write too much...but I love background information and sometimes I just cannot help it.

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  11. Absolutely beautiful! I did not get to make this because I have been sick with sinus problems and a cold, but I do want to make it sometime. I love your idea of using smoked trout instead of the tuna.

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    1. Elaine, I thought you were probably not feeling well - I visted your blog a few times, looking for new posts...hope you are better now and feeling up to maybe baking some bread on Tuesday...or maybe first get some well deserved rest!

      The lentil salad is simple to prepare and we liked it a lot - but we are "lentil lovers" and the flavor of smoked trout is very nice with the lentils.

      Get better soon!

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  12. The De Puy lentils are so pretty! I didn't have time to hunt some down, so regular brown lentils had to do. I did follow Dorie's recipe and will definitely make them again.

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    1. Adriana, I think this recipe works equally well with brown lentils or lentils from the puy region. The puy lentils can also be hard to find.

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  13. Beautiful! I didn't have time to get the lentils from de Puy, but I will definitely be on the lookout now. It was a delcious dish.

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    1. It is nice to read that so many of the Doristas liked this recipe. This lentil salad is delicious, healthy and it keeps well.

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  14. Yum! That flatbread looks amazing! I'm naan-ed out so I'm ready for a new bread to try. As always, your pictures are beautiful!

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  15. I think I love your bread more than this salad. Though your photos sell the dish... amazing. Your de puy look like pebbles on the beach in Nice.

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