French Lentils With Garlic and Thyme

- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
- 1onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 2¼cups French lentils
- 1teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
- 3bay leaves
- 1tablespoon kosher salt
Preparation
- Step 1
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add oil. When hot, add chopped vegetables and sauté until softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Add 6 cups water, lentils, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a fast simmer.
- Step 3
Simmer lentils until they are tender and have absorbed most of the water, 20 to 25 minutes. If necessary, drain any excess water after lentils have cooked. Serve immediately, or allow them to cool and reheat later.
Private Notes
Comments
This is very close to how I prepare lentils, too, though I take a somewhat lazier approach. I buy pre-diced frozen mirepoix (which adds celery) at one of my local grocers. I usually slice garlic rather than finely mince. And nearly always, when I use fresh thyme, I simply toss in large sprigs that I later extract with the bay leaves. Some water often gets swapped out in favor of chicken or vegetable stock and/or a bit of white wine, and some fresh parsley and lemon finishes it off.
Simmered in chicken broth until creamy. Added chopped mushrooms. Served with grilled lamb chops. Heavenly combination, accompanied with good pinot noir or cores du rhone.
Turn cold left-overs into a salad by adding olive oil, vinegar, snipped chives and crumbled demi-sec goat cheese. Serve with cherry tomatoes.
Frizzling the onions until almost-burnt made my boiling broth rich and full of onion flavor. Subbed the bay leaf for lemon which brightened the whole thing up. Fantastic. A new weeknight staple!
Really terrific. Used mostly stock instead of water, as well as a 1/4 cup of cooking sherry. Our rural grocery store only had green and red lentils, so went with the green. Served with the prosciutto-wrapped cod. Family said it was a restaurant-quality meal -- not bad for a Tuesday dinner!
Lovely recipe. I added stuff: chopped red and golden bell peppers and sausage. Used French lentils and chicken broth. Served with a green salad with pears and goat cheese with a honey dressing. Too bad I was out of walnuts which would have been a nice addition.
