French Lentils With Garlic and Thyme

- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
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.
I used the same amount of carrots, onions, garlic and seasoning but cut the lentils down to one cup. It was a much better ratio and I had a side that could feed four instead of ten.
These are far better than they have any right to be. I made no changes to the recipe, made as written with the intent of finishing up the rest of the thyme from the CSA. #noregrets
Took longer than 25 minutes to cook the lentils. More like 45–50 mins.