Warm French Lentil Salad with Bacon & Herbs

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

One time during fall, I tagged along with my husband on a work trip to Toulouse, France (as one does when one’s spouse has meetings in such nice places). It was our first time in Toulouse, and it was stressful. I feel like the first trip to any new city is a kind of sacrifice to the travel gods, seasoned with blunders and bad maps and jet lag, especially when you don’t speak the language or have a credit card with the right kind of chip inside.

Ingredients

1 cup green or French lentils
2 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces bacon (about 4 thick-cut slices), cut into small pieces
2 large shallots, cut in half and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 large sprigs rosemary, leaves stripped and minced
3 large leaves sage, minced
2 tablespoons capers, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Wash and rinse the lentils. Put in a small saucepan and cover with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Add extra water while cooking if the liquid gets low. Drain the lentils and return them to the pot. Stir in the salt.
Meanwhile, while the lentils are cooking, cook the bacon in a heavy pan over medium heat until crispy. Drain most of the fat out of the pan, then add the shallots, garlic, rosemary, and sage, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and the shallots are tender but not soft. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the olive oil, mustard, and balsamic vinegar together until thick. Toss with the warm, drained lentils, then stir in the bacon and shallot mixture. Stir in the chopped capers and parsley. Taste and season with additional salt, if needed, and a generous quantity of black pepper.
Serve warm. This keeps for 5 days in the refrigerator and is also good eaten cold.