Mushroom Bourguignon

Steps

1. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel. Leave the button mushrooms whole, halving any larger than 1 1/4 inches (3 cm), and cut the portobellos into quarters. Cut the carrots on the bias into 5/8-inch (1.5 cm) pieces and mince the garlic. Put the pearl onions in a bowl, cover them with boiling water for 2 minutes and drain: the skins will slip right off.
2. Rinse the green lentils and put them in a saucepan with 1 liter (1 quart) of cold water and 1 bay leaf, with no salt. Simmer for 20 minutes, until tender but still whole, then drain. At the same time, peel the potatoes, cut them into large chunks and put them in another pot with 2 liters (2 quarts) of cold water and the coarse salt. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
3. Heat a 10-inch (26 cm) cast-iron Dutch oven over high heat with 1 tbsp of sunflower oil. Add a third of the mushrooms in a single layer and leave them alone for 4 minutes, until the undersides are deep brown. Add 10 g of butter, brown for 2 more minutes, stirring, season with a pinch of salt and set aside. Repeat 2 more times with the rest of the oil, the mushrooms and 20 g of butter.
4. Lower the heat to medium. Add the carrots to the pot and cook for 4 minutes, scraping up the brown bits. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes, until the paste darkens to brick red, then sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the red Burgundy, scraping the bottom well, and let it boil for 3 minutes. Add 400 ml of the vegetable broth, the soy sauce, the thyme, the second bay leaf, then the mushrooms and their juices. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes with the lid ajar, until the carrots are tender and the sauce coats a spoon.
6. Meanwhile, glaze the onions: put them in a small skillet with 15 g of butter, the sugar, the remaining 100 ml of broth and a pinch of fine salt. Cover and cook for 8 minutes over medium heat, then uncover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, shaking the pan, until the liquid turns syrupy and the onions are golden and shiny.
7. With 10 minutes of simmering left, add the drained lentils and glazed onions to the pot: the lentils soak up the sauce without breaking apart.
8. For the mashed potatoes, drain the potatoes and return them to the pot over the heat for 1 minute to dry out. Mash them with a potato masher or ricer, work in 60 g of butter in pieces, then the hot milk a little at a time, using a spatula and no whisk so they don't turn gluey. Season with 1 tsp of fine salt.
9. Take the pot off the heat, remove the thyme and bay leaf, and gently stir in the remaining 25 g of butter: the sauce turns glossy and velvety. Taste, add pepper and adjust the salt.
10. Spoon the mashed potatoes into warm shallow bowls, make a well in the center and fill it with the mushroom bourguignon. Scatter with chopped parsley and serve right away.