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Lentils With Red Wine And Herbs

By Sophie Dahl

I used to make this when visiting my girlfriend Annie, who lived in Paris, above a bakery. We called it Paris mash - lentils, garlic, onions, sloshes of red wine, creme fraiche, machetes lettuce, spinach.. whatever was lurking around, a kind of a french Stone Soup if you will.

Photography by Jan Baldwin
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  • Serves: 4
  • Preparation time: 30 minutes
  • Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups French green lentils
  • salt
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ¼ cup dry red wine
  • 1 packed cup baby spinach
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp crème fraîche
  • 4 lightly packed cups lamb’s lettuce
  • ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped coriander
  • freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Season with salt and simmer over moderate heat until tender, 40 minutes. Drain the lentils.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the red onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils and the wine and simmer until the wine has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche. Add the lettuce, parsley and coriander and cook until barely wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.