Lentils with Wholegrain Spelt Spaetzle and Root Vegetables
Swabia without the sausages: the lentils take their depth from roasted roots and a splash of vinegar, and the spaetzle are scraped from wholegrain spelt. Still tart, still hearty, and plant-based apart from the eggs in the dough.
Why this dish is good for you
Lentils and spaetzle together give a complete amino acid profile - the pulse brings lysine, the grain the sulphur-containing amino acids. The vinegar is no accident: its acidity improves uptake of the plant iron, of which a serving holds a good 7 mg. Wholegrain spelt instead of white flour triples the fibre in the dough.
Ingredients
- Green lentils(weighed dry, no soaking needed)200 g
- Carrots(finely diced)150 g
- Celery(celeriac)100 g
- Leek(in rings)100 g
- Onion100 g
- Apple cider vinegar(at the end - the tartness is what defines the dish)25 g
- Bay leaf(one leaf)1 g
- Canola oil25 g
- Vegetable broth300 g
- Water(to top up)400 g
- Wholegrain spelt flour(for the spaetzle dough)240 g
- Eggs(three, for the dough)165 g
- Salt4 g
Method
- 1
Roast the onion, carrot, celeriac and leek in the canola oil over medium heat for ten minutes until the dice take on colour. This roasting step replaces the bacon.
- 2
Add the lentils, top up with stock and water, drop in the bay leaf.
- 3
Cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes until the lentils are tender but still holding shape.
- 4
For the spaetzle, beat the spelt flour, eggs, 100 ml water and a pinch of salt into a stiff dough until it blisters. Rest for ten minutes.
- 5
Scrape the dough in batches from a wet board into simmering salted water. The spaetzle are done when they float - lift them out with a slotted spoon.
- 6
Remove the bay leaf from the lentils and stir in the vinegar and salt. Only now taste - the acidity shifts everything.
- 7
Spoon the lentils over the spaetzle.
🫘 Warum der Essig zum Schluss gehört
Acid firms up the skin of the lentil. Cook the vinegar along and you wait twice as long for tender lentils - and still taste less of it at the end, because some of the acid boils away.
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