Roast Carrots and Onions with Puy Lentil Feta Greens

It’s been a quiet winter….

Frugal Midweek Supper. Could 3 words be less inspiring.

Lentils. Kale. Chard. Another dirge lacking possibilities?

Well, forget that. Thomas Keller described lentils as “almost like caviar as they pop against your palate, but with a sensation of creaminess”… I want some palate popping creaminess for my midweek dinner.

A roasted carrot is a fine thing. Use big robust fat carrots, and chop lengthways in half. Big fat carrots, roasted in butter on a high heat until they are charred on the edges and tender in the centre. Fantastic as a side dish, but meaty and substantial enough to take the place of your normal chunk of protein.

Though if you have the urge, swap the carrots in this dish for a pan-fried pork chop, pick a fatty chop and make sure you finish the chop in the pan, fat side down, render the fat until it hits caramelised fatty succulence.

Puy lentils, cooked in a little hot stock like a risotto, reduce and reconstitute with more stock, add greens and reduce again until the lentils themselves create the light sauce, which is a silky amalgamation of stock, lentils and veg, lightly coating the pulses. Crumble over some salty feta cheese to finish.

The whole is greater than the parts.

Requiem for a boring midweek supper.

Method:

Roast Carrots and onions.

Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees.

Cut the carrots lengthways and add to roasting dish, dot butter, dash olive oil, and season with salt and pepper and fresh thyme.

Peel the onions and cut  in half through the roots. Quarter the onions cutting in half through the root again. Repeat by cutting the quarters though root in half. Throw into roasting pan and treat as carrots above, butter, oil, season, thyme.

Roast for about 40 mins, until lightly charred and tender.

Lentils: use Puy Lentils which retain their shape and texture and don’t turn to mush..

Add butter to frying pan, add some crushed garlic cloves and a small handful of lentils per person. Toast the lentils gently in the butter. Season with salt & pepper. Add a cupful of hot vegetable (or chicken stock) and reduce. Repeat. Make sure the pan doesn’t dry out and the lentils catch, but you are going to repeat this process for about twenty minutes, similar to risotto. Adding a cup of hot stock until almost gone, and reconstituting with another ladle/cup of hot stock. After about 10 mins add the greens. I used finely shredded Kale, Chard and Beetroot Leaves, but you can use whatever you have to hand…

The greens will wilt as you continue to add the stock, simmer, and reduce. Test the lentils as you go along. After about 15 mins the lentils should be done. Test for a nutty texture that retains a satisfying pop when bitten into, again personal preference can come into play, but you don’t want them overdone and on the mushy side or to be  slightly underdone with a gritty texture.

When the lentils are done, add the roasted onions and crumble over some feta cheese. Season to taste, but not too heavy on the salt as the feta will add enough of a salty punch.

Serve immediately with carrots on the side.

Enjoy..