Sausage and Lentils

Last Year's Post: Italian Tuna Sandwich (No Mayo)
Two Years Ago:  Holiday Breakfast Strata

There's something about sausages and lentils that says "fall" to me.  Add in some roasted vegetables and you have a beautiful rustic dish that's both healthy and filling.  My inspiration for this dish was two-fold.  First, if you're a fan of Costco, you'll understand completely that we wandered by a tasting table and liked the roasted pepper sausage with manchego cheese they were tasting.  We now have four packages waiting in the freezer.  One of my games when that happens is to find new and interesting ways to use the Costco ingredient without repeating the same recipe over and over.

My second inspiration was seeing some gorgeous French baby carrots at the grocery store.

Because my carrots were so small I roasted them whole rather than cutting them up, and I roasted the very smallest ones separately so I could take them out faster.

After that it's just a matter of cooking the lentils and sauteing the sausages.

You have a couple of choices with this dish.  The first is the type of sausage you use.  Definitely buy precooked turkey or chicken sausages (Amy's or Aidells are two good brands), but the choice is whether you buy primarily savory (Italian, roasted pepper, etc.) or slightly sweet (chicken, apple and maple, for example).  If you buy savory sausages the recipe calls for manchego cheese; if you buy an apple or maple variety you add maple syrup to the dressing, substitute blue cheese for manchego cheese, and adding fresh apple pieces.  Your choice.

The other choice is whether to serve it hot or at room temperature.  If you decide to serve it hot I'd suggest adding the cheese at the last minute on top so it doesn't melt into the dish.

Either way, it's a great and unique fall and winter dish.

printable recipe

Sausage and Lentils

Serves 4

For the salad dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 small garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (if using sausage with apple or maple flavors, otherwise omit)

1 cup of small French green (or small black) lentils, uncooked

1 fennel bulb

1 small red onion

4 carrots (less if adding apple, below)

1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

3-4 precooked smoked sausages (your favorite flavor), cut into ½” pieces on an angle

½ cup cubed Manchego cheese (if using savory or spicy sausages) or crumbled blue cheese (if using apple or maple sausages)

½ cup fresh apple cubes (if using apple or maple sausage, otherwise omit)

Mix ingredients for dressing together in a jar with a lid. Shake well.

Cook the lentils according to package directions; drain.

 Preheat the oven to 450d.  While the lentils are cooking, roast the vegetables: slice the carrots in small chunks about the size of your thumb. Trim the leaves off the fennel bulb; core and cut into ½” wedges. Slice the onion into ½” wedges. Toss the carrots, fennel, onion and garlic with a tablespoon of oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and then place on a baking sheet. Bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes, turning over after half the time, until the carrots are fork-tender.  (If your carrots are larger or smaller change the baking time accordingly.) 

While the lentils are cooking and vegetables are roasting, sauté the sausage pieces in 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned.

Toss the warm lentils with some of the dressing.  After the lentils have cooled somewhat, add the remaining dressing, roasted vegetables, browned sausage, cheese and apple (optional) and serve.  Garnish with additional thyme leaves if desired.

Lemon Roasted Halibut with Lentils and Tomatoes

I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way I became a fan of lentils.  When I was a kid there was no way I would eat them - they're suspiciously like a vegetable and they're so brown.  Then there's lentil soup, or what I like to call Brown Glop.  What it took to convert me was the discovery of French green lentils, called Lentils du Puy.  They're about half the size of "normal" lentils, they're not brown, and they don't get mushy when cooked.  Rather, they have a pleasant pop when you eat them. They can often be found in food co-ops and some upscale grocery stores.  Recently I also discovered some beautiful small Umbrian lentils in a specialty food store in California, and some wonderful small black lentils at my local Whole Foods.

Since I also had French green lentils on hand and some normal brown lentils that I accidentally bought a few months ago, I guess that officially makes me Lentil Obsessive. 

I thought I'd show you the difference.  The normal lentils are on top.  On the bottom, left to right, are black, Umbrian and French green lentils.

Lentils have very high nutritional value and are a great source of fiber, iron and protein along with several other nutrients.  All the small lentils have the same great firm texture when cooked and are basically interchangeable in recipes.  I used black lentils in the recipe below, but you could easily use French green lentils instead.  I'll post another recipe in the future where I used the Umbrian lentils in a chicken dish with lemon mustard sauce and spinach. 

OK, enough about lentils.

The other, equally important part of this dish is the halibut.  Halibut has recently displaced salmon as my favorite fish - it has a clean, mild flavor and a great flaky texture with absolutely no fishy taste at all.   The marinade gives it a wonderful lemon flavor with a hint of garlic.  Be careful not to marinate the fish too long - lemon juice is an acid and will literally start to "cook" the delicate fish.  Fair warning - halibut is relatively expensive because it's so popular.  It's worth the time to search out your local fish mongers and compare prices rather than buying at the local grocery store.  Besides, then you're ensured of getting absolutely the freshest fish.

** click here for a printable recipe **

Lemon Roasted Halibut with Lentils and Tomatoes

Serves 4

Fish:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about one large lemon)
¼ cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
4 6-oz skinless halibut fillets

Lentils:

1 cup small black or French green lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup sliced green onions
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

 Lemon wedges for garnish

 In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a sealable plastic bag, add the halibut pieces and coat them thoroughly with the lemon mixture.  Refrigerate for 35 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the halibut marinates, place the lentils and water with a large pinch of salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer according to package directions, typically 25 minutes or so (depends on the type of lentils).  Drain and set aside.

After 35 minutes have elapsed, remove the halibut from the marinade and place in an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet.  Roast until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the fish is roasting, heat the1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes.  Add the green onions, tomatoes, lentils, thyme, and parsley to the pan and stir to combine.  Cook until warmed through, about 1 minute.  Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Divide lentils between plates, place a piece of halibut on each, and garnish with a lemon wedge.