Charred Leeks with Puy Lentil Vinaigrette

Name: Charred Leeks with Puy Lentil Vinaigrette
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter; a big handful of mixed soft herbs such as tarragon, flat-leaf parsley or dill, chopped; salt and black pepper; 6 tbsp olive oil; 150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup dried Puy (French) lentils; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; 1 bay leaf; 1 litre/35 fl oz/4⅓ cups vegetable stock (bouillon); 2 leeks, trimmed; 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Life's Too Short to Stuff a Mushroom

By Prue Leith

Published 2024

About

Greeny-brown Puy lentils come from the Puy region of Auvergne in France and are the best. You can buy them most cheaply dried, but they are also available cooked in packets or jars.

Ingredients

For the lentils

1 litre/35 fl oz/4⅓ cups vegetable stock (bouillon)

Europe
France
Starter
Vegetarian
Gluten-free
Auvergne
Mediterranean

Method

To cook the lentils, bring the stock to a boil in a large pan. Add the bay leaf and lentils and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
Drain. Discard the bay leaf. Transfer to a medium bowl, season well with salt and pepper and keep warm.
Split the leeks in half lengthways and wash them (see hack