A Pot of Lentils for Dinner & Lunch

With pressure roast vegetables and burnt leeks and - meat lite - a few slices of chorizo too, if you want them.

This is not the post I intended on writing today. I have been travelling with Irina Georgescu through Romania, via her latest book, Danube, and revisiting her first, Carpathia, and cooking from both along the way. But when I sat down at my laptop this morning I realised I wasn’t quite ready - not only did I want to cook a couple more dishes, but I was struggling to get my thoughts down. I know the lack of clarity is in part due to a head cold, inherited from both Adam and Shariq (thanks, boys!). It hit me last night and this morning I couldn’t even force myself out for a walk this morning. And as you can see from the pictures above, the sunrises this week are pretty amazing and not to be missed if possible. I got as far as putting on my coat, only to take it off again and scuttle back to bed with tea and a novel. Talking of colds, it just took one household to succumb for my entire batch of elderberry syrup, made in the autumn, to get used up. Noting to myself I should make at least twice as much next year.

So instead of a book review, which will land next week, a simple recipe post. This is a really healthy meal - lots of variety of vegetables and herbs, the chorizo added as a nod to Adam because of his carnivorous tendencies, but easily removed. And full of complex carbs too - I am trying to cut down on the white ones a bit. The garnish is in the spirit of a tadka, while clearly not being anything like. And the root vegetables were simply because I had them and Adam loves them and I wasn’t cooking the white rice he would normally want with lentils (as it is, an hour after a huge portion of this, he was making cheese toasties. Bottomless pit). So don’t feel you have to cook all the elements. The lentils would also make a good side dish for all kinds of things - eggs, grilled meat or cheese especially.

I used 2 pressure cookers for this meal, but if you want to cook all the elements with one, you can cook them in order and keep warm. The lentils are the easiest to keep warm, as you can just decant to a saucepan/casserole. Then do the root vegetables and put under a low grill - they will crisp up a little more but will not burn in the time it takes for you to make the leek/chorizo garnish.

For the pot of lentils:

1 onion, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 fennel bulb, diced (optional)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

leaves from a sprig of thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (you can add some hot too if you like)

1 small bunch parsley, leaves and stems separated, finely chopped

150g red lentils, rinsed

200g green lentils

100ml red wine (optional)

1 tbsp tomato puree

A squeeze of lemon juice

Heat your pressure cooker and add the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, pepper and fennel if using, and saute briefly on a high heat, before stirring in the garlic, thyme, oregano, paprika and parsley stems. Add the lentils and pour in the red wine if using. Allow to bubble up, then pour in 600ml water or stock if you have it. Season with salt and pepper (I am still overusing my tarragon salt) and stir to make sure the base is deglazed. Squeeze in the tomato puree but don’t stir (it acts as an inhibitor and may stop the lentils softening in the time). Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure, then cook for 10 minutes. Leave to drop pressure naturally. Stir in most of the parsley leaf, and add a squeeze of lemon.

For the carrots and parsnips (or any other root vegetables you like):

2 tbsp olive oil

500g carrots, peeled and cut into large baton

2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large baton

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika

Heat your pressure cooker and add half the olive oil. Add the carrots and sear on two sides - you will find that if you have heated your oil right, the carrots will start browning pretty much instantly. Remove the seared carrots, add the remaining oil and add the parsnips. Sear in the same way. Return the carrots to the cooker, season with plenty of salt and pepper, then sprinkle in the fennel seeds and the paprika. Add a splash of water - it should create plenty of steam. Quickly close the lid and seal. Bring up to high pressure (it should be pretty instant), then cook for 2 minutes. Fast release the pressure. Transfer to an oven proof dish and put under a low grill to keep warm.

For the “burnt” leek and chorizo garnish:

Note - some of you may be wondering why this isn’t just integrated into the lentil dish - and yes, there are times when I might sear the chorizo and leeks, then finish the leek cooking after the lentils have cooked by just adding to the same pot and bringing up to pressure again. This is unlikely to work with this dish because of the red lentils - they will break down and the starch will sink and burn before the cooker manages to come back up to pressure.

1 tbsp olive oil

2-3 leeks, cut into rounds

100g cooking chorizo, sliced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

A squeeze of lemon juice

Heat your pressure cooker and add the olive oil. Add the leeks and leave without stirring for a good 2-3 minutes - you want them to start browning almost to the point of charring. The searing will do part of the job and the pressure cooker will finish the flavour development. Push the leeks to one side and add the chorizo. Brown quickly on both sides, sprinkle in the thyme and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of water and stir everything together. Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Immediately remove from the heat and fast release. Add a little lemon juice.

As I write this it occurs to me that you could just pressure cook the leeks and then sear the chorizo in a pan and add the leeks. This gives you more options in terms of how to approach the order of what to cook.

To assemble:

Divide the lentils between bowls, top with the carrots and parsnips, followed by the leeks and chorizo. Sprinkle with a final garnish of lemon juice and parsley.

And for lunch leftovers:

This was also a case of fridge remnants, so as usual, substitute away on the greens/other vegetables.

1 portion of leftover lentils

1 leek, cut into rounds (I can never get enough and all last night’s gone)

A few cherry tomatoes

A few stems of sprouting broccoli

lemon juice

parsley

chilli flakes

A few goat’s cheese balls or similar

Add around 150ml water or stock to your pressure cooker. Put the lentils in your pressure cooker and arrange the leeks, tomatoes and sprouting broccoli around them. Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Remove from the heat immediately, leave to stand for 30 seconds then release the remaining pressure.

Lightly mix together, then decant to a bowl. Add parsley, lemon, chilli flakes and goat’s cheese. The latter will melt and add creaminess - a nice contrast to the burst of sweet cherry tomatoes.

Thank you for reading, everyone! This is an open access post, free to all, so please do share with anyone you think may enjoy it. And please, if you have a moment, click on the heart, I would really appreciate it. Many thanks again xxx