wine-braised lentils over toast with greens

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carrots chard lentils spinach greens toast toppings red wine

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This might sound like an unusual combination, but it is fantastic. It’s based on a recipe from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen. You can use the toasted seed or levain loaves from Rise & Shine Bakery for toast, but if you use the toasted walnut oil in the recipe, the toasted walnut bread is spectacular!

I like to use the little French green lentils (sometimes they are called lentile du puy). They stay more intact than the regular brown lentils, which is kind of important in this dish, since you’re putting them on toast, not just cooking them into a soup. It’s a completely different texture than the brown lentils you may be more familiar with.

This recipe makes more lentils than you’ll need for one meal, but they are so good you’ll be glad for the leftovers. They freeze really well, too—just freeze the lentils before adding the greens. As with all bean recipes, this tastes even better if you make it the day before, or in the morning, so the flavors have time to develop.

1 ½ cups small green lentils, rinsed
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
6 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2-3 cups dry red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
sea salt and freshly-ground pepper
2 bunches of chard or spinach, washed and stemmed
1 tablespoon toasted walnut oil (I like Loriva brand), extra-virgin olive oil, or butter
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slices of sturdy whole-grain bread
1 clove garlic, peeled

1. Parboil the lentils for 5 minutes and drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot. Add the diced vegetables and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, until starting to brown. Add the crushed garlic, mash the tomato paste into the vegetables, then pour in the wine and stir in the mustard. Add 3 cups water, the drained lentils, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Simmer, covered, until the lentils are quite tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Lentils can use quite a bit of salt, so don’t be afraid to keep tasting and adding salt until you’ve got the balance just right.
3. Wilt the spinach in a skillet in the water clinging to its leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir as many cooked greens as you’d like into the portion of lentils that you’ll be eating right away, and add the oil or butter.
4. Toast the bread until nice and crunchy, and rub it with the whole garlic clove. Put each piece of toast on a plate and spoon the lentils and greens over the toast.