Puy Lentils

Lentils, in particular the tiny Puy lentils can be a stunning addition to so many dishes. Puy lentils, unlike the split orange variety will hold their shape after cooking as will their cousin the larger green variety. I find the best way of cooking them is to place them in a heavy bottomed pan with some vegetable stock and cook them gently over a low heat until all the stock has been absorbed. You can add bay leaves or other herbs such as thyme, if you fancy flavouring them more, you could also pop a chili into the pot while they're cooking to give them a little heat. Whatever you do, having a container of cooked lentils in the fridge will serve you well,

For this recipe you will need,
100g of Puy lentils
500g of vegetable stock, I use Marigold Bouillon Powder.

Place the lentils and the stock in a heavy based pan with a lid and cook on the lowest heat possible for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the lid and if there is still some liquid remaining in the bottom of the pan, leave the lid off and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes or so until the lentils are virtually dry, keep an eye on them, it's surprising how a burnt flavour permeates an entire pan of food, believe me, I know.