French lentils

I haven’t done a steam oven recipe for a while so I have adapted this Lyndey Milan recipe for the tiny, French green lentils.  I thought that the flavouring would be perfect to serve with my Roast Tarragon Chicken for Bastille Day as a hot side dish.  I also thought it would be a lot easier to cook in the steam oven, especially while something else is cooking at the same time and would certainly be a lot less washing up as I can cook it in the serving dish!  The best part about cooking this is the steam oven was the fact that you don’t need to stir it, worry about it catching on the bottom of the pot and it took less time.  The lentils were also perfectly cooked, with just a little bite to them.

Remember, there is no transfer of flavours when cooking in the steam oven so even cooking fish with the lentils underneath won’t result in a ‘fishy flavour’ imparting into the lentils.

These lentils have a big flavour so would also be excellent with roast meat.

Ingredients: Serves 4

1 cup French Puy green lentils
1 tablespoon of oil
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 small leek, washed well and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1½ cups water
pinch salt

Fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of baby capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Handful of baby spinach

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a shallow casserole that will fit into the steam oven.
2. Add the leek, carrot and garlic and sauté, covered on a low heat until soft.
3. Add the lentils and water and cook @ 100°C for 17 minutes until soft but not broken down.  They should still hold their shape but have a bite to them.  Season with a pinch of salt to taste.

Stir through all the other ingredients and serve immediately.