Spring Vegetable Warm French Lentils

Spring is here! We just love all the new seasonal veggies. At this time of year, they are just so tender and packed full of flavour. If you've been following along on our journey- you know we have added to our pantry range and are now offering meat! Here is a delicious, fairly simple to make, wholesome, seasonal meal.

If you are time poor- like most of us- a few great things about his recipe:

• You can definitely make the lentils ahead of time.

• Any leftovers keep pretty well- providing for a healthy yet filling lunch the next day.

• The traditional French flavours allow you to mix and match your meats. If meat isn't your thing- this dish is superb as a meal... as is!

• You can use just about any vegetable in this- I love to really load it up for my crew.

• Since the veggies are sautéed- if you have a few lonely carrots at the back of the fridge past their crunchy prime- no problem! Dice them up and throw them in!

• While best served warm, this dish travels and keeps well- so it is an absolute stunner to bring to a picnic or bbq.

What you Need

• 3/4 cup Chef's Choice green lentils, rinsed and drained

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 red onion finely chopped

• 1 celery stalk finely diced

• 1 carrot finely diced

• 1 small red capsicum finely diced

• 1/2-1 cup of other spring vegetables of choice chopped (optional)

• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley (plus more for garnish)

• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (plus more for garnish)

• Chef's Choice Himalayan Salt and ground pepper to taste

Method

1. Combine lentils and 3 1/4 cups of stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender but not mushy (about 20-30 minutes). drain and set aside- reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. in a frying pan, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil . sauce the onion until softened (5-7 minutes). Next add celery and carrot and sauté for 2 more minutes. Finally add the capsicum and any additional spring vegetables if using and sauté for a further 2 minutes.

3. Add the lentils to the pan and sauté over medium heat, allowing the flavours to blend. Stir in the lemon juice, final Tbsp of olive oil, a few Tbsp of the reserved cooking liquid, parsley, basil, salt and pepper to taste.

4. Serve warm with some of our sausages, lamb cutlets, grilled chicken or even your favourite salmon!

Enjoy!