Friday, September 12, 2014

French Fridays with Dorie - French Lentils


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is „French Lentils: a basic recipe“. Lentils are versatile, nutritious, and very tasty, and there are many different ways to serve them. Unlike dried beans they do not need soaking and they cook relativley quickly. Before I started making this „basic recipe“ for lentils, I decided to use Dorie´s recipe as a basis for a fresh, late summer salad, a Lentil Salad with fresh Figs, Goat´s Cheese, Rocket and Honey.




Of the widely available types of lentil, Dorie´s recipe calls for „Puy Lentils“ or „lentilles vertes de Puy“, a small slate-green lentil with a delicate blue marbling. Puy lentils are considered by many to be the best lentil because of their distinctive earthy flavor and incomparable nutty texture and the fact they hold their shape during cooking. They are the only lentil to be identified by area of cultivation (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) – grown in Puy-en-Velay,  France. Puy lentils can be served hot or cold as a salad starter or as an accompaniment to poultry, meat or fish dishes, or can be used in soups or casseroles.




The first step in this recipe is the cooking of the lentils. Before you get started, give them a good wash, to get rid of any starchy dust. To infuse these lovely jewels with a lot of flavor, the lentils need to be cooked twice, once only briefly in water, the second time with garlic, onion, carrot, celery stalk, a clove and a bay leaf – all in a homemade chicken broth. The Puy lentils only needed to cook for 25 minutes and ended up having a lovely texture and holding their shape really well, even after mixing them carefully with the optional vinaigrette, the second step for this recipe.




The vinaigrette consisted of Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, walnut oil (which goes so well with earthy lentils), extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a bit of local runny honey. Once the lentils are cooked and drained and while still warm, it is also the right time to add the rather well-seasoned dressing – your lentils will soak up the flavors beautifully. Now let the dressed lentils sit for a while, then toss with fresh rocket and finish with quartered figs, goats´cheese and a drizzle of honey.

This is a good recipe to be using that lovely local, runny honey that you bought at the farmers´ market - once a bit in the vinaigrette, then to drizzle a bit over the figs and the goat´s cheese to finish the salad. And as far as the goat´s cheese is concerned, goat's cheese is, of course, a very varied product. For this recipe, try to get a fresh, unpasteurised cheese that is light and soft, which tastes lovely tossed together with the rocket. Or, if you prefer, get a goat´s cheese that crumbles like feta.




Overall,we absolutely adored the Lentil Salad with fresh Figs, Goat´s Cheese, Rocket and Honey. Dorie´s  basic French lentil recipe is a fabulous, flavorful basis for this wonderful salad that combines the earthyness of the Puy lentils, the peppery taste of the rocket, the creaminess of the goat´s cheese, and the sweetness of the lovely fresh figs and honey – absolute delight on a plate – could not ask for more on a late summer´s day.




To see how much the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group enjoyed this recipe, please go here.

For copyright reasons, we do not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for the “French Lentils: a basic recipe“ on pages 367-8 in Dorie Greenspan´s "Around my French Table".


47 comments:

  1. Absolutely fantastic looking lentil salad! love the way lentils are used in different dishes...

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    1. Deepti, thank you very much! Lentils are so very versatile indeed and I loved the idea of playing around with this basic recipe of Dorie´s a bit - the kids absolutely adored this salad (no surprise really, they are crazy about fresh figs and goat´s cheese).

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  2. wow! i love your recipe! great job!

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    1. Marcela, thank you and how nice that you stopped by my blog today!

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  3. Such a beautiful salad. I love the goat cheese and figs, it goes perfect together.

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    1. Nana, lentils are just so versatile. We are known to eat a lot of lentils around here, from lentil soup to lentil stews, you name it, we tried it - so this lovely late summer lentil salad was a welcome and seasonal change of pace for us!

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  4. I am eyeing up those juicy figs! The lentils were good whether in a salad or on their own.

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    1. Gaye, we are in the midst of fig season around here - for the moment, we cannot get enough of these dark prurple, utterly sweet beauties. Lentils are always good on their own but we definitely needed a change of pace.

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  5. Oh, what a terrific salad! I've been eyeing the figs and now you've convinced me to put some into my shopping cart!

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    1. Liz, get those figs while you can! The season around here is rather short and they are at their peak these days - personally, I can never resist them when I see such sweet beauties at the store orthe market - it would be such a pity not buying them.

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  6. I always enjoy your posts and the stunning photos but you really have my mouthwatering with this salad. I made the recipe as a side dish but will be going back to try it as a salad and absolutely love the combo you use. I adore figs and goat cheese (separately and together) and your presentation looks like it was served from a very upscale restaurant !!!

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    1. Tricia, we love lentils in soups and stews and casseroles, we love them in salads as side dishes, you name it, we tried it - so a much needed change of pace was in order - love figs and local honey and creamy, delightfully salty goat cheese - so, putting these elements together seemed just right.
      Thank you for you kind comment!

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  7. Andrea, You outdid yourself with this salad! The prettiest I’ve seen! Beautiful presentation, and delicious looking! Love how the figs play with all the other ingredients so well! I enjoyed the goat cheese with my lentil salad, but now I have to try it with figs and arugula. Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Kathy, if you like the peppery taste of rocket (arugula) and the sweetness of figs and honey together with a bit of slightly salty goat´s cheese - you and your family/ friends will adore this salad, I am sure. Thank you for stopping by!

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  8. Hi Andrea, what a lovely salad, the figs look spectacular!

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  9. Figs are at peak season right now. I will definitely make this gorgeous salad... beautiful photography.

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    1. Diane, same here - peak season for figs - we cannot get enough of them.
      Thank you for your comment.

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  10. I certainly wouldn't miss the meat with this salad Andrea. It's just beautiful and presented so artistically!

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    1. Chris, and why should you - this salad has lentils and rocket and figs and cheese and honey - enough lovely ingredients to make you forget all about that meat.

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  11. Nice and comforting meals!!!
    delicious....

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    1. Dede, thank you kindly - it was a wonderful late summer salad, making the best of Dorie´s basic recipe and the seasonal fruits and veg available around here right now.

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  12. Figs and goat cheese flavors go so well together…your salad is lovely. I haven't seen any figs in our market this year. I'll have to try the tip of cooking the lentils twice.

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    1. Karen, thank you for your comment - around here figs are quite abundantly available at this time of year and the ones I used for this Lentil Salad were particularly nice - which, by no means, is always the case.

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  13. What a FABULOUS iteration of this dish. Lovely!

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    1. Mardi, thank you kindly - glad that you like my rendition of Dorie´s basic French lentil recipe.

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  14. That salad does look great. I love fresh figs and I think goat cheese goes with everything. Beautiful photos:)

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    1. Diane, glad that you enjoy my French Fridays with Dorie post! It was fun playing around with Dorie´s basic recipe.

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  15. Looks delicious. Figs are one of my favorite seasonal treats this time of year and I can never seem to get enough of them.

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    1. Rose, thank you very much - figs are indeed a wonderful seasonal treat!

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  16. This is gorgeous, Andrea! Did Dorie ever discuss NOT salting lentils while cooking? I was always taught to salt after, but am not sure. I could use this salad for lunch today! Ganz liebe Grüße, David

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    1. David, according to Dorie´s recipe, you add no salt for the first cooking (two minutes), then you cook the lentils for a second time (in a broth that, obviously will contain some salt), then you add salt to the cooking liquid five minutes before the end of cooking time. As far as my personal experience is concerned, I do add salt to the cooking water from the beginning - to no ill effect. Many cooks do too. To no ill effects either, I am told. So maybe, this is one slightly outdated cooking myth...who knows?!
      Liebe Grüsse,
      Andrea

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  17. Love love that you always garnish your salads with edible flowers, very pretty! A great looking lentils salad!

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    1. Emily, thank you very much - edible flowers are such a lovely and very tasty way to finish a dish.

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  18. Ryan loves lentils...but I have a hard time with them. I need to find this french kind because your salad looks so very lovely.

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    1. Monet, I grew up loving lentil soup - the kids enjoy them as well in salads and soups - and they are so very versatile - if you do not really enjoy the "regular" lentils, you might enjoy these Puy lentils with their rather earthy flavor - maybe a salad would be a great way to get started?!

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  19. Oh, my! I love everything about that salad. And your photos are just gorgeous - full of late-summer sun.

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    1. Teresa, late summer sun has a way of enchanting my soul...love it...there seems to be no better time of year to be enjoying this lovely salad that makes the best of the wonderful ingredients available at this time of year at the market.

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  20. What a beautiful salad Andrea, I tried French lentils for the first time last week and was surprised how easy they were to cook and they were delicious too! I hope you and the family are well as you can see I am just spending my morning tea break catching up on your blog :)

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    1. Karen, the Puy Lentils from France are so very easy to prepare, as are all lentils - the only problem is that we never seem to be preparing them often enough. And I am delighted to read that we are not the only ones crazy about them - they are indeed delicous with their nutty, earthy flavor.

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  21. Besides being enamoured with Lentils, I adore figs as well as rocket. Everything else about this salad sounds yummy and, of course, it's beautiful in its appearance. How could anyone not enjoy this? I had no problem with Dorie's lentil-cooking technique although it took more effort and time. The result is well worth it. Nice job. Those figs photographed beautifully.

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    1. Mary, figs and lentils seem to be great flavor partners - the earthyness of the lentils pairs so well with the sweetness of the figs and the peppery taste of the rocket seems to balance out everything - a nice combo to make. And a nice change to our everyday lentil dishes.

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  22. Your salad has all my favorite things in it, lentils, honey, figs, goat cheese and rocket. It's just perfect for the season. I also love that you garnished it with flowers!

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    1. Betsy, then we should definitely share a salad exactly like this one some day!!! If we ever get a chance to meet and figs are in season, I will make that salad for us to enjyo!
      Thank you for stopping by!

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  23. Figs!!! Oh so pretty! I love figs in baked goods and salads, especially. The colors are amazing and your fresh figs definitely brought my appetite (and not ready for dinner yet...). Very pretty photos of the salad!

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    1. Nami, I totally agree, figs are just heavenly at this time of year - cannot get enough of them. And this lovely basic lentil salad recipe seemed to be a great vessel for the rest of the ingredients, including the sweet fresh figs and the creamy goat cheese.
      Thank you for all your comments!

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  24. So pretty! I don't think I've ever thought to pair a fig with lentils, but I like the idea.

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