French Lentils with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

Last nights supper was another new recipe, this one from French Food at Home with Laura Caulder. It was an easy to make, nice tasting dish and yet another way to serve lentils. We had it as a main course with steamed green beans on the side.

I didn't have any du puys lentils so used the regular ones that I had on hand (I have a huge bag), they are bigger and require a bit more cooking and water than called for but they were fine. I also didn't have walnut oil so used extra virgin olive oil. I'll be looking for some walnut oil to purchase as I think the flavor would be improved. I also used less goat cheese than the recipe called for, next time I'll use 1/2 the amount to further reduce the calories. Other than the goat cheese this is a healthy recipe to use on a diet and with the lentils is a good filling dish.

To test it for camping, next time I make it I will try cooking the lentils in the microwave, which is easier to use on the camper than the stovetop.

French Lentils with Walnuts and Goat Cheese ***   

Ingredients
1 cup du Puy lentils
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
splash Balsamic Vinegar
Walnut oil
Salt and pepper
2 ounces walnuts toasted
4 ounces goat cheese broken into pinches

 
Instructions
1.Put the lentils in a saucepan with the bay leaf and thyme. Pour over 1-1/3 cups/375 ml water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. All the liquid should be absorbed by the time they’re done, if not simply drain off any excess.
2.Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic for one minute, then deglaze the pan with a splash of balsamic vinegar. When the lentils are cooked, toss them with the onion, son with salt and pepper and put them in a serving dish. Scatter over the nuts and pinches of cheese. Serve warm with roasted beetroot.

Source: Food Network's French Food at Home with Laura Calder
Cuisine :   French    
Main Ingredient :   Lentils

Yields: 6 Servings as a side dish, 2 large servings as a main course
Notes: I made it with olive oil, I think walnut would be better as the flavour of the EVOO was strong. I used regular lentils and added about 1/3 cup of extra water. It took 40 min to cook.