I cooked for Jay, his brother Arun, Larry and his dad tonight. Arun is vegetarian, and we had rain today so I wanted something hearty and comforting for dinner.
– This braise has many parts, none of which is very difficult. Everything can be made ahead of time and reheated before dinner. I doubled the lentils. I used French green lentils since I couldn’t find black lentils. It’s an excellent vegetarian meal, and the presentation is nice.
– I love these pot pies, but the dough is very difficult to work with. It’s very dry and crumbly and I complain about it every time I make these. In the end, it always comes together. This cookbook isn’t that well written, but I’ve liked everything I’ve made out of it. I love how these seem to be just regular little molten chocolate cakes, but in the middle is a fresh raspberry surprise.
- Hummus (Fine Cooking #10, August/September 1995, p. 66)
- Braised Root Vegetables with Black Lentils and Red Wine Sauce (Local Flavors, Deborah Madison, p. 223)
- Celeriac & Yukon Gold Purée (Fine Cooking #48, January 2002, p. 55)
- Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
- Chocolate-Raspberry Pot Pies (Just a Bite, Gale Gand, p. 228)
Wine: 2000 Testarossa Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands, California). Lovely and soft.
When you made this recipe before, it completely inspired me to buy the book.
I love that this is very much a comfort dish, and that I don’t need to worry too much about what I’ll serve with it. I love the wine sauce. I think I liked this better the last time I had it.
Arun commented that he really liked the lentils – he said a lot of times lentils are bland. The secret in this recipe is that you add some of the wine sauce to the lentils after they’ve cooked. I love that – it ties the components together.