Secrets of Great Second Meals

The Lentil Bowl

Black Lentils with Beets, Asparagus, and Sauce Gribiche

When I worked at LA’s Campanile restaurant in the late ’90s, I was introduced to beluga lentils (marketing speak for black lentils), which we cooked by the bucketful and used in both pasta dishes and wonderful cold salads. I’ve never gotten out of the habit of (a) preferring black lentils to all others, mostly because of their chic color, but also because they taste less earthy and sweeter than most other lentils; and (b) always cooking more lentils than I quite need. They keep well and end up in soups, salads, my daughter’s tacos, my breakfast plates, and most commonly in hearty lunch bowls like this one. I also often cook a couple of extra beets when I get roasting, so this combination offers itself, and the herby-eggy sauce gribiche makes it special.

Extra ingredients: cooked lentils, roasted beets

Time: 10 minutes (10 minutes active)

Makes 1 serving

PRESERVED LEMON SAUCE GRIBICHE (MAKES ABOUT ¾ CUP)

2 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely grated

1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon or chervil

1 tablespoon finely chopped cornichons

1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon pith and peel

1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

FOR EACH BOWL

1 roasted beet, sliced into ¼-inch rounds

Fine sea salt, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil to taste

1 cup cooked lentils

4 spears cooked asparagus

1 to 2 tablespoons sauce gribiche to taste

4 to 5 toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Parsley leaves, roughly chopped, for garnish

1. To make the sauce, in a medium bowl, mix half the grated egg, the tarragon, cornichons, preserved lemon, scallions, mustard, vinegar, and oil. Blend well. Adjust the seasoning with fine sea salt and pepper to taste, then gently fold in the remaining egg, which should remain distinctly bright and yellow.

2. Season the beet slices with salt and a squeeze of lemon.

3. Place the lentils in a single serving bowl, season them with salt, and drizzle them with olive oil.

4. Lay the beets and asparagus on the lentils and dress with the sauce gribiche. Garnish with the walnuts and parsley leaves.

VARIATIONS

Change the greenery. Compose the bowl with arugula, watercress, blanched broccoli, cooked spinach, or mustard greens instead.
Add a hearty protein. The lentil bowl also tastes lovely with slices of cold flank steak or tender fish.
Replace the beets. Most roasted or grilled vegetables can taste great here, including potatoes, leeks, parsnips, winter squash, or more asparagus.