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Vegan Braised French Lentils – full off protein, comforting and nourishing at the same time a delicious healthy side dish that pairs well with so many things! Leftovers can be frozen, or repurposed into breakfast or into a salad. Bonus : Gluten – Free…

Here’s a simple recipe for Vegan Braised French Lentils that comes in so handy this time all year. This lentil side dish pairs well with so many things. Serve with roasted asparagus or baked tofu shawarma or vegan tofu rolls. These cremini, shiitakes, morels, porcini, portobellos or white button mushrooms would also pair nicely. What I love about this recipe is that the lentils can be repurposed during the week into different meals. Leftovers can be turned into a salad with the addition of fresh veggies and a red wine vinaigrette. Or warm the lentils up for brunch, serve over a piece of bread with and sesame oil or olive oil. Or freeze them for later use. Here we’re using French Green Lentils (also called Le Puy Lentils), but any small lentil, like black lentils or beluga lentils will work well here too.

For this recipe, you’ll need 1 1/2 cups of French green lentils ( Le Puy)  or black lentils (Beluga, caviar lentils). Large brown lentils will take much longer to cook than the recipe calls for and probably a little more liquid.

Start with dicing the carrot, onion and celery. Roughly chop the garlic. Saute the onions, celery and carrots  for 7-8 minutes. Add the garlic and lentils and saute until garlic is fragrant. Deglaze with wine of your choosing. Or you can leave this out and add a little red wine vinegar at the end. Add the stock and aromatics- bay leaves and sprigs of thyme. Then simmer gently, covered over low heat for 25-30 minutes. The lentils will hold their shape beautifully, and be a flavorful companion dish to whatever else you are serving.

Vegan Braised French Lentils Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (or less)
• 1 onion, diced ( or sub 1 large leek)
• 1 cup diced celery (or fennel bulb)
• 1 cup diced carrot ( or beet.)
• 4-5 garlic cloves, rough chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dry French Green Lentils (Le Puy, or small black lentils– beluga, caviar, etc. )
• 1/4 cup sherry wine, red wine, white wine, marsala wine (or skip it and add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar at the end)
• 4 cups veggie stock ( or just water)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard- whole grain or dijon (optional)
• 4–5 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 bay leaves

Vegan Braised French Lentils Instructions

• Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrots and stir 4-5 minutes, then turn heat down to medium. Cook 4-5 more minutes and add the garlic and lentils. Cook 2 minutes stirring.
• Add the wine. Let this cook-off, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the veggie stock, salt, and mustard and stir until combined and bring to a good simmer. Add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, cover and gently simmer on low heat 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender.
• When the lentils are tender, uncover and cook off any extra liquid ( or feel free to drain). Remove the thyme sprigs, taste and adjust salt. A tiny little splash of red wine vinegar flaful them up.
• Leftovers can be frozen for later use, or refrigerated and made into a salad the next day- adding fresh veggies and a simple vinaigrette. Or use for breakfast, warmed on toast, with sesame or olive oil.

Notes

• Vegan Braised French Lentils These cremini, shiitakes, morels, porcini, portobellos or white button mushrooms would also pair nicely.
• If you have boiled lentils in your freezer, you can use them. This shortens the cooking time by 25 minutes.
• These French green lentils were quite small- which allows them to cook quickly! Larger lentils may take longer to cook- check at 25, and add more liquid if need be.
• Leftovers can be frozen for later use, or refrigerated and made into a salad the next day- adding fresh veggies and a simple vinaigrette. Or use for breakfast, warmed on toast, with sesame or olive oil.