CookEat Recipe
Whole Lentils with Butter and Meat Jus
Whole lentils boiled until tender, drained and gently finished in butter and meat jus.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 250 g dried green or brown lentils that hold their shape; 40 g butter; 150 ml prepared meat jus; Salt and black pepper; Water for cooking.
Step 2
Sort the lentils, discarding stones or damaged seeds, and rinse well. Put in a saucepan with plenty of water, bring to a boil, then simmer gently for about 20–30 minutes, or according to the packet, until tender but still whole. Drain very well.
Step 3
Melt the butter in a pan, add the drained lentils and meat jus and turn gently. Simmer for about 5–10 minutes, until the lentils have taken up the flavour and the liquid lightly coats them. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot, on their own or beside cooked zampone or cotechino.
Step 4
For the broth-and-prosciutto variation, boil the same lentils with a tied bundle of 2 parsley stalks, 1 thyme sprig and 1 small bay leaf. Remove the bundle and drain well. Replace the main meat jus with 150–250 ml prepared meat broth, or strained defatted cooking broth from fully cooked fresh cotechino or zampone. Use the same 40 g butter divided into two portions, plus 30 g prosciutto with fat and lean and about 20 g onion.
Step 5
Finely chop the prosciutto and onion together and brown gently in 20 g butter. Add the chosen broth, simmer for about 10 minutes, then strain thoroughly, pressing the solids lightly. Put the drained lentils in this strained sauce, add the remaining 20 g butter, season with salt and pepper and simmer until coated. Allow about 65 minutes with prepared broth. Use only safely prepared broth from sound food; do not use broth to rescue spoiled sausage.
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