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.
Why this dish is good for you
Five milligrams of iron a portion, and the acid of the vinaigrette helps absorb it. Because the lentils keep their shape, their cell structure stays largely intact - the starch is released more slowly than from pulses cooked to a mush, and blood sugar rises more gently.
Ingredients
- Green lentils(weighed dry, small dark green variety, not soaked)250 g
- Carrots(very finely diced, cooked along)150 g
- Onion(half cooked along, half raw and finely chopped)120 g
- Celery(celery sticks, finely diced)100 g
- Olive oil35 g
- Red wine vinegar25 g
- Parsley(flat-leaf, roughly chopped)20 g
- Mustard(coarse, Dijon style - it emulsifies the vinaigrette)15 g
- Salt(only after cooking)4 g
- Thyme(two sprigs, cooked along)2 g
- Bay leaf(one leaf, remove at the end)1 g
- Water900 ml
Method
- 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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