Necessity is the mother of invention, so they say.  Our need, in this case, was dinner and this mighty fine “invention” was the result.   A while back I’d seen an episode of Jamie Oliver  featuring the people and food of the French Pyrenees. In it he made this fantastic rustic meal of confit duck served over a bed lentils and veggies that was capped with parmesan cheese and a generous drizzle of olive oil. (A tidbit I found interesting – Jamie mentioned off-hand that though the people in this region have diets heavy in meat, dairy and saturated fat, they have one of the lowest rates of heart disease. (I assume he means within France)) With that as my inspiration, I made my version with the whole chicken we’d brined then grilled a-top a beer can the night before.  After sautéing the dried lentils in butter I added some onion, peppers, carrot, mushrooms, a generous amount of garlic, and simmered it all in a rich chicken stock with dried oregano and fresh thyme and rosemary.

This, was the result.

Simple and satisfying. Flavorful and delicious.

 French Inspired Chicken and Lentils

1/2 a bag of green lentils, around 8 ounces, rinsed and checked for small stones.
4 tablespoons butter
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1/2 a red pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, ends trimmed and chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
3-4 cups chicken stock (home-made is best)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
shredded parmesan to top the lentils with, a couple swipes across a grater per bowl should be plenty
left over roasted or grilled chicken
salt to taste, I used maybe a 1/2-1 teaspoon

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large stock pot. Add the lentils and sauté for 2 minutes till toasted and nicely coated with butter.

2. Add the carrots, onion, red pepper, celery, mushrooms, garlic, and salt and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups of stock, oregano, thyme, rosemary, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil. Simmer till quite a bit of the stock has been absorbed and add more stock, one cup at a time, as the lentils continue to suck up the liquid. There should be some liquid at the end to keep things nicely coated, but not enough that it becomes a soup. (Though if you prefer a soup, go for it! Just add extra liquid till you get the consistency you desire. It would be pretty stellar alteration to this recipe.) The lentils took around 50-60 minutes to cook  and should be al dente, but not mushy. Spoon into bowls and top with shredded parmesan and chicken.