French Lentilles du Puy - Lentil Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

The small dark green lentils from the volcanic highlands of the Auvergne hold their shape when cooked. Dressed lukewarm with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, they serve in France as starter, side and main all at once.

• 45 minutes
• 4 servings
• Main course

• vegan
• gluten-free
• nut-free
• lactose-free
• blood-sugar balancing
• folatreich
• plant-based
• vitamin-k-reich

Ingredients

• 250 g Green lentils (weighed dry, small dark green variety, not soaked)
• 150 g Carrots (very finely diced, cooked along)
• 120 g Onion (half cooked along, half raw and finely chopped)
• 100 g Celery (celery sticks, finely diced)
• 35 g Olive oil
• 25 g Red wine vinegar
• 20 g Parsley (flat-leaf, roughly chopped)
• 15 g Mustard (coarse, Dijon style - it emulsifies the vinaigrette)
• 4 g Salt (only after cooking)
• 2 g Thyme (two sprigs, cooked along)
• 1 g Bay leaf (one leaf, remove at the end)
• 900 ml Water

Instructions

1. Put the lentils on with water, carrot, celery, half the onion, thyme and bay leaf. No salt.
2. Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. They should not burst.
3. Drain, keeping the cooking liquid for a soup. Remove thyme and bay leaf.
4. Whisk mustard, red wine vinegar and salt, then stir in the olive oil slowly - the mustard is what makes oil and vinegar bind instead of separating again.
5. Pour the vinaigrette over the still-warm lentils and mix well.
6. Fold in the raw onion and the parsley. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature, not cold from the fridge.

Senf ist ein Emulgator, nicht nur ein Gewürz

The seed coat of mustard contains mucilages that wrap around the oil droplets and stop them merging again. Half a teaspoon holds a vinaigrette together for hours - which is the whole reason it appears in almost every French dressing.

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