Beechwood-smoked Toulouse sausages with green lentils

Ingredients

• 800 g all-pork beechwood-smoked Toulouse sausages
• 320 g Puy green lentils or French green lentils
• 1 piece yellow onion
• 2 pieces carrots
• 2 cloves fresh garlic cloves
• 1 piece bouquet garni
• 2 leaves dried bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 pieces whole cloves
• 900 ml low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 60 g sharp Dijon mustard
• 0.5 bunches fresh flat-leaf parsley
• to taste fine salt
• to taste whole black peppercorns

Method

1. Sort through the lentils on a plate to remove any small stones, then rinse under cold water for 1 minute in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs completely clear. Do not soak them.
2. Peel the onion and carrots. Stud the onion with the whole cloves. Cut the carrots into regular 1/4-inch (5 mm) dice. Lightly crush the unpeeled garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife blade.
3. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat (around 300 °F / 150 °C). Sweat the diced carrots and crushed garlic for 5 minutes, stirring, until translucent and glossy without browning.
4. Add the lentils, clove-studded onion, bouquet garni, bay leaves, and fresh thyme. Toast the lentils over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until every grain is glossy and coated with fat.
5. Pour in the cold chicken broth. Bring to a gentle simmer (around 195 °F / 90 °C) over about 6 minutes, then immediately reduce the heat to very low to prevent a rapid boil that would burst the lentil skins.
6. Lay the whole smoked sausages on top of the lentils without piercing them. Cover the pot three-quarters of the way and simmer gently (around 185 °F to 195 °F / 85 °C to 90 °C) for 20 minutes.
7. Gently turn the sausages using tongs, being careful not to pierce the casings. Continue cooking covered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the lentils are tender yet whole and the sausages reach at least 165 °F (74 °C) internally.
8. Remove the sausages and let them rest on a plate tented with aluminum foil for 5 minutes. Discard the onion, bouquet garni, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs from the pot. Taste, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
9. Increase the heat to high (around 212 °F / 100 °C) and reduce the cooking juices uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, until syrupy enough to coat the back of a spoon. Off the heat, swirl in the cold butter for 1 minute to emulsify, then stir in the red wine vinegar.
10. Return the sausages to the pot over low heat (around 160 °F / 70 °C) for 2 minutes to warm through gently and glaze them with the sauce without bursting their casings.
11. Immediately spoon the lentils and their reduced pan sauce into warm shallow bowls. Set the smoked sausages on top, sprinkle with freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, and serve right away with Dijon mustard.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

736.4 kcal

Protein

58.27 g

Carbohydrate

23.51 g

Fat

45.15 g

Fibre

8.43 g

Calcium

114.42 mg

Iron

7.57 mg

Magnesium

130.2 mg