Too Bad I Can't Photograph An Aroma!

Because this dish smelled insanely good while cooking!
 

I love Joanne Harris’ and Fran Warde’s cookbook, The French Market, which I bought a while back when our then-Supper Club was planning a French meal.  Since then, I’ve prepared a number of delightful dishes from it.  I had been eying their recipe for Lentilles du Puy, or Wine-Braised Puy Lentils, for quite some time, and I finally decided the time had come.  It’s easy, and I often have all the ingredients on hand.  I cut the recipe in half, but it calls for:

¼ c. olive oil
2 red onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups Puy lentils or brown lentils (I used brown)
2 cups hearty red wine (I used a simple, fruity Shiraz)
1 (14½-oz) can chopped tomatoes in juice
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs oregano (I didn’t have fresh oregano, used thyme sprigs from my garden instead)
2 sprigs rosemary (I used a bit of dried)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 350, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe covered pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic, cook for 5 min. Add all the remaining ingredients PLUS ¾ cup water, and bring to a boil.  Cover and bake for 30 min.  Stir, and continue baking till the lentils are tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 min. more.

The heady aroma of this dish while it baked was amazing, and I loved the hearty, rustic flavors.  I enjoyed the lentils with left-over pork roast and an arugula salad, with the same Shiraz I used in the dish.  The Shiraz was lovely with the lentils, not a perfect match for the pork but not at all bad.  A very satisfying meal, and I’m sure I will be making these lentils again and again.

Note:  They are even better the next day!