French food is often labelled as overly complicated, elaborate, and difficult. I wanted to share this Sausage and Lentil dish to show that that isn't always the case. French bistro food and French country food are simple foods made well, with care and good-quality ingredients. That's it.
Jump to:
This is a great Bistro dish for Sunday lunch or a weeknight dinner. It's the kind of meal that feels rustic and satisfying without requiring any fancy technique. If you're curious about more French-inspired cooking, my piece on the food of Northern Italy covers similar rustic European traditions, and my braising guide explores the slow-cooking method that makes dishes like this so flavourful.
Give it a shot! This is...
Before We Begin
Before I get too far into this, I need to tell you that I made a mistake. When I made this last night, I added the dried lentils to the pot and only gave them about fifteen minutes to cook. That really isn't enough time. My lentils were still a bit...firm, let's say.
So, I suggest that at the beginning of the 30 minutes, you put the lentils in a small pot, cover them with water, and boil them for 15 minutes. Then at the 15-minute mark, drain them and add them to the sausages and everything, just like I did. The difference is that your lentils will actually be cooked at the end.
7:45 pm - Turn On the Heat
I started cooking last night at 7:45 pm and in all honesty, this was the last thing I wanted to be doing. Between daylight savings time and the 3-week old baby, I was feeling pretty exhausted. But, that's what's great about these 30 Minute Meals. They're quick enough that they can be made even when you really don't feel like it.
Okay, I started at 7:45 pm. The first thing that needed to be done is getting the lentils cooking. Again, I didn't do this but I recommend that you do. Put the lentils in a pot, cover with hot water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
I used a large enameled cast iron dutch oven to make this which takes a little while to heat up. So, I turned it on over medium heat and then got down to business dicing my onion.
7:47 pm - Sausages in Pot
It took me longer than it should have to dice my onion, and I really don't know why. But whatever the reason, 2 minutes after I started on my onion I was done. It also happened that at this point my pot was hot so I added in the sausages.
With the sausages in the pot and the onion set aside I sliced 1 celery stalk.
7:50 pm - Leeks
I let the sausages cook for about 3 minutes before flipping them. I'm not at all concerned with cooking the sausages all the way right now. I just want to get some colour on them. We'll finish cooking them later.
I also sliced up a leek at this point. To do this first cut off and discard the root, and the top dark green bits. Slice the leek in half lengthwise then cut across in half-inch or 1 cm pieces. Put the leeks in a bowl, cover with cold water and swish them around. Let them sit in the water until ready to use.
When the time comes to use the leeks, scoop them out of the water using your hand rather than pouring them out of the bowl. If you pour the leeks into a strainer all the dirt that was cleaned off the leeks and settled to the bottom of the bowl will be poured on top of them and you will have dirty leeks once again.
7:52 pm - Cook the Vegetables
Take the sausages out of the pot and add in the onion, celery, and leeks. This is all going to be cooked for about 6 minutes. Really, the goal is just to start softening all the vegetables.
7:53 pm - Garlic
While the leeks, onion, and celery are cooking slice 2 cloves of garlic and peel and slice 2 carrots.
7:56 pm - Tomato Paste
Add about 2 tablespoon of tomato paste to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Then add in the garlic and carrots and cook for 1 more minute. Cooking the tomato paste briefly before adding the liquid concentrates its flavour and removes the raw, tinny taste.
7:58 pm - Sausage and Lentils
At this point, everything gets added into the pot. The lentils, which hopefully have been cooking for about 15 minutes, the sausages, thyme, stock, and salt and pepper.
7:59 pm - Turn Up the Heat
With everything in the pot, it's time to crank the heat up to high and bring everything to a boil. Once it starts to boil put a lid on the pot, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes of simmering, taste and adjust the seasoning as needed and serve.
8:15 pm - Plate Dinner
I like to serve this dish with some nice French mustard and if I had had it, a crisp white wine.
This is one of those dishes that reminds me why I love French bistro cooking so much. It's honest, comforting food that doesn't try to be anything more than what it is, and that's exactly what makes it so good.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pkg Sausages
- 1 Leek Sliced & Washed
- 1 Celery Stalk Diced
- 2 Cloves Garlic Sliced
- 1 Med. Onion Diced
- 2 Carrots Peeled and Sliced
- 2 Sprigs Thyme
- 1 cup Dried Lentils rinsed in hot water
- 2 cup Stock or water
- 2 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoon Oil
Instructions
- Put the lentils in a pot, cover by 1 inch with hot water and boil for 15 minutes.
- Heat a pot over medium heat.
- Add in the oil and sear the sausages on both sides.
- Remove the sausages and add in the onion, leek, and celery. cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, cook for 1 minute then add in the tomato paste.
- Drain the lentils and add them to the pot.
- Add in the stock, salt and pepper, sausages, thyme,
- Bring the pot to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Leave a Reply