ingredients:

  • 1 cup carrots, diced
  • 1 cup onions, diced
  • 1 ¼ cup celery, diced
  • ½ cup broccoli, chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 oz pancetta
  • 1 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 10-12 grinds of black pepper mill
  • 1 cup french green lentils
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

heat oil over medium heat. sauté the mirepoix of veggies, broccoli and 1 tsp salt for about 15 minutes.

stir in pancetta, tarragon, cumin, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and sauté about 5 minutes. stir in lentils to combine.

add about 1/3 of the red wine and turn up the heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally. once the wine has been absorbed add another 1/3 of the wine, and let it absorb, about 5 more minutes. then add the last 1/3 of the wine, and let it absorb.

i prefer lentils al dente, not mushy, but you may need to add some water at the end if the lentils haven’t softened enough. remove from the heat and stir in butter.

discard bay leaf and toss in parsley.

4 servings