Vegetarian 'Petit Salé' (lentils stew)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Ingredients

650 g cooked green lentils you can also use uncooked lentils to cook in the recipe
4 large carrots
1 onion red or yellow, as you prefer
1 clove of garlic
200 g smoked tofu
6 brown or button mushrooms
8 cl dry white wine optional
2 bay leaves
A sprig of thyme
A sprig of rosemary
salt & pepper
2 cloves optional
A dash of olive oil
Vegetable cream optional

Instructions

Rinse the carrots, peel them if they are not organic, and cut them into medium thick slices (or small cubes if you prefer). Steam the carrots for 10 minutes (no more than that, so that they stay a bit crunchy.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the onion and mince the garlic clove. Fry everything in a large frying pan with a drizzle of oil over a low heat for 5 minutes. Stir from time to time.
Cut the tofu into cubes and add them in the pan. Fry for a few more minutes.
At the same time, clean and chop the mushrooms and add them to the mixture.
At this point you can deglaze the pan with a little white wine if you wish.
Then add the cooked lentils, bay leaf, cloves and sprinkle with thyme and rosemary.
Simmer for about ten minutes on a low heat. For a little more creaminess, you can add a tablespoon or two of vegetable cream (or sour cream for a vegetarian version), or a ladle of vegetable stock.

Notes

If using uncooked lentils, then add them into the pan (or a big pot) after frying the onion and garlic, and add the chopped carrots and herbs at the same time. Add cold water (3 times the volume of lentils), bring to the boil and cook over medium heat for a good 20 minutes. Then add the tofu and mushrooms and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

I like to add other seasonal vegetables to this dish for a change. For example, butternut squash, leeks or zucchini in the summer.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: French