puy lentil stew with garlic bread

How to make puy lentil stew with garlic bread recipe

Serves 4

Total cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced
250 g (8 oz) Puy lentils, rinsed
600 ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
300 ml (½ pint) red wine
Garlic bread
50 g (2 oz) butter, softened
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1 wholemeal French baguette
salt and pepper

Method:
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and cook the peppers, onion, garlic and fennel over a medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Stir in the lentils, stock and wine and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, beat the softened butter with the garlic and thyme in a bowl and season with a little salt and pepper. Cut the baguette into thick slices, almost all the way through but leaving the base attached. Spread the butter thickly over each slice, then wrap the baguette in foil and place in a preheated oven, 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, for 15 minutes.

Serve the stew hot, ladled into warm serving bowls, with the torn hot garlic and herb bread on the side for mopping up the juices.

For Puy lentil & sun-dried tomato salad, place 200 g (7 oz) rinsed Puy lentils in a saucepan, cover generously with cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until just tender.

Drain, then toss with the juice of 1 lemon, 1 crushed garlic clove and 4 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Stir a drained 280 g (9 ¼ oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes, 1 small finely chopped red onion and a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley through the lentils and serve with some rocket leaves. Total cooking time 20 minutes.

puy lentil stew with garlic bread