Monday, August 27, 2018

Fennel Ratatouille with Puy Lentils

Originally published on Friday September 29, 2006

Lynne promised a Puy lentil recipe for last week’s newsletter, then forgot to deliver. Apologies. We served this (low GI) dish with roast lamb on Heritage Day. The Puy lentils are delicious and the only reason they are cooked separately from the ratatouille is that they colour it the most alarming shade of khaki green if you cook them together.

1 small aubergine – salt - 1 onion – 1 T olive oil - 1 fennel bulb - 3 courgettes – 3 tomatoes - 3 cloves garlic – small bunch of thyme, chopped – 50 ml white wine – 100g Puy lentils - sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook in a stove top casserole with a tightly fitting lid. Chop the aubergine into 3 cm chunks, salt and leave for 20 minutes to get rid of any bitter juices. Rinse well. Chop the onion into 2cm chunks and fry in the oil till it just begins to take colour. Chop the rest of the vegetables into rough chunks, then add to the casserole. Crush the garlic and add it too, along with the thyme. Season, cover and allow to simmer gently in their own juices for 20 minutes until the vegetables are softening, stirring once or twice. At the same time, cover the lentils with water, add the wine (don’t salt) and simmer until soft then drain and add to the fennel stew. Adjust the seasoning and serve

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