The lentils below can be served warm as a side dish or as a meal. They can also be eaten cold as a salad. I like to add more vinegar each time I have a serving, especially when eating it as a salad. I also like to chop the garlic and onion finely and keep it in the finished product as I have a hard time discarding food and don’t mind the extra bits of vegetables.
BASIC LENTILS
from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils, rinsed
1 onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 carrot finely diced
1 celery rib finely diced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, roasted walnut oil or butter
Red wine vinegar
Chopped parsley or chervil
Put the lentils in a soup pot, cover with 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, then add onion, garlic, bay leaves, carrot, celery and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Lower the heat and simmer until tender but still a little firm (they shouldn’t be mushy) about 25 minutes. Strain and reserve the broth for soup stock. Remove the onion, garlic, bay leaves, taste for salt and season with pepper. Stir in the oil and add a few drops vinegar to bring up the flavor. Garnish with parsley and serve.
