Salchichas!

For Christmas from Terri in WI, I received 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega. A giant collection of recipes from Spain's top selling cookbook. Yeah! This week I have four recipes I'm going to make. Here's the first one...

Lentejas con tocino y salchichas
Lentils with Bacon and Sausage

You need good lentils. These are petite green lentils (Le Puy from France).

You cook the lentils until tender with some flava...carrots, onion with whole cloves, garlic and a bay leaf. I added one stalk of celery for fun.

When the lentils are cooked, they are tossed with crispy bacon and sausage. I used some sliced up kielbasa. Serve with a cool, crisp salad for a great meal.

I loved these lentils. So warm, earthy, meaty, smoky. We both wanted more! I think I like them more than the Warm French Lentil Salad. Try these lentils.

Lentils with Bacon and Sausages
from 1080 Recipes, slightly altered by me.

1 small onion, peeled
2 whole cloves
2 2/3 cups Puy lentils
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, cut into pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
bacon, sliced into pieces...about 1/2 pound
1/2 smoked kielbasa, cut into bite size pieces
salt/pepper

Insert the cloves into the onion (see photo above). Add the first 6 ingredients into a large pot and cover with ample water. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. I went about 50 minutes and they were almost mushy. I'll check for the proper tenderness at about 40-45 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Drain. Discard veggies.

In the same pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Push to the side, add the kielbasa and saute for a minute or two. Remove from heat. Spoon off about 1/2 the fat. Add the lentils, stir and serve. If the lentils are too dry for your liking add some of the cooking liquid back until the lentils moist to your liking. Season with salt and pepper.