When visiting San Francisco, I always return to Fringale restaurant for their duck confit and French lentils (we have successfully made sous vide duck confit at home which I will cover in a future post). You may serve duck confit with side dishes other than lentils, but to me, there is nothing that compliments the savory duck as well. French lentils are small so they cook very quickly but unlike other lentils they hold their shape extremely well. But cooking quickly does not mean they aren’t full of flavor. Mirepoix, the foundation for many French dishes, is a combination of carrots, onions and celery that are finely diced and sautéed gently in olive oil or butter. Mirepoix will add aromatic flavor to your dish as they do here, without being too bold. All of the elements meld together to make a delicious meal.
French lentils, which are a must for this dish, can be found packaged or in the bulk section of many markets. For a real treat buy French lentils du Puy. Wash them well in a sieve before using them in any recipe. The rinsed and drained lentils are added to the pot along with chicken broth. They will braise in the liquid and aromatics for about 45 minutes. Then they are ready to serve.
The mirepoix consists of onion, carrots and celery. Fresh thyme, garlic and bay leaf also contribute to the flavor of the braised lentils.
One of the highlights of this recipe is bacon. Not only does bacon smell divine when it’s cooking, it adds so much flavor to this humble dish. The vegetables are sautéed just until they soften a bit. The idea is to coax out the flavors without browning them too much. They should me meltingly tender and sweet.
A bit of garlic goes in the pot along with a bay leaf and fresh thyme, followed by Sherry to deglaze the pan. You could also use red wine, however, there’s something about Sherry that is magical. It’s the secret ingredient in Granny’s Teriyaki Sauce. Be sure to use the real deal Sherry from Spain. One that we like to use is Hartley & Gibson’s Blend of Amontillado Medium Sherry. It’s not expensive and relatively easy to find in larger supermarkets or local wine stores.
- 1 cup French lentils, rinsed and drained
- 3 pieces bacon, finely diced
- 2 heaping tablespoons minced onion
- 2 heaping tablespoons finely diced carrot
- 2 heaping tablespoons finely diced celery
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- ⅓ cup sherry (Hartley & Gibsons Amontillado Medium Sherry recommended)
- 2¾ cups chicken broth
- few grinds of pepper (optional)
- Wash lentils and drain in a sieve.
- In a medium saucepan (I use my Le Creuset 3½ quart Dutch oven) cook diced bacon until crisp and rendered. If there is too much bacon fat in the pan you may pour off some of it. Once the bacon is crisp, turn heat down to medium-low and add mirepoix. Sauté gently (do not brown) until vegetables soften a bit, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic, bay leaf and thyme stirring continuously for 1 minute.
- Deglaze pan with the Sherry, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add lentils and chicken broth to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for about 45 minutes, or until the lentils are just tender. Check the lentils occasionally making sure they are not boiling. Adjust the heat as necessary. I usually have the heat set to low allowing the lentils to simmer gently.
- The lentils are done when just tender. You may uncover the pan for a few minutes if there is too much liquid (the lentils should not be dry). Keep in mind the lentils will absorb some of the liquid once refrigerated.
