Lentils with kielbasa
April 10th, 2007
On Sunday afternoon, I got in from a trip to North Carolina and didn’t feel like hitting the store on the way home. I had carrots, onions and some kielbasa in the fridge and French lentils in the pantry. Lentils are a protein- and fiber-rich canvas for rich meat dishes. They have an earthy, full flavor and a texture that pops before turning smooth and creamy. They beg for the cutting brightness of an acid like lemon juice or vinegar, as do the rich meats with which they go so well.
Warm lentil salad with diced carrot and onion, fresh thyme and mustard vinaigrette is a staple in Parisian cafés, almost to the point of cliché. With that memory in mind, I adapted a recipe from a recent issue of Gourmet magazine that called for thinly slicing and browning the sausage before stirring it into the dressed lentils.
Lentils with kielbasa
serves 4
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups French lentils (Lentilles de Puy)
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound kielbasa, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped marjoram
fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions:
1. Rinse and pick over the lentils. Bring the lentils, water and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. When the water boils, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the lentils are tender, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the salt and simmer 5 minutes more.
2. Heat another saucepan over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the kielbasa. Brown it well on both sides, 8-10 minutes total. Remove the kielbasa to a plate.
3. Meanwhile, prep the remaining ingredients. In the same pan you use for the kielbasa, heat half the olive oil over medium-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmering, add the carrots, onion, garlic and marjoram. Season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 6-8 minutes.
4. Drain the lentils and add them to the pan with the vegetables. Stir in the kielbasa, vinegar, remaining olive oil and mustard. Take the pan off the heat and serve.
April 10th, 2007 at 8:49 am
A bit of chopped preserved lemon (rind only) makes a lovely addition to lentils and sausage in place of the red wine vinegar. The acid is a nice balance to the richness of the lentils.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Hi Brys,
A man named Xavier taught me his mother’s version of this classic dish that tastes more like a dry-ish stew, made with saucisse de Morteau. Is that like kielbasa? I can’t remember. It involves briefly sauteeing an onion and a clove of garlic in a small splash of olive oil, adding a cup of lentils, a bay leaf, fresh thyme or rosemary, a pinch of salt and pepper, the sausage (unpricked!), water to cover, plus a few nice tomatoes cut in half that will dissolve as it cooks, covered, for about 25 minutes. The advantage here is that the lentils are perfumed with the smoke from the sausage, and it requires almost no extra fat. Plus it takes seconds to assemble. I always finish this with a drizzle of Balsamic, roughly chopped flatleaf parsley to lift it and Dijon mustard on the side for the sausage. It makes a hearty winter meal with toasted baguette slices to add a little bit of crunch. -KH
April 10th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Are you sure you don’t mean Fine Cooking magazine?
April 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Kristin: Sorry for the delay. Thanks for this — sounds delicious. Stephen: Yes. I adapted this from Gourmet, though it probably exists in multiple forms in many places.