Ingredients (serves 3-4):
Lentil Stew
- 200g of green lentils
- 2 small carrots – diced
- 2 small red onions – diced
- 2 small onions – diced
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1-2 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
- 1/2 glass of port
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- Water for topping up the stew
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dauphinoise Potatoes
- 3-4 medium to large potatoes
- 200ml of milk
- 200ml of double cream
- 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
- Some grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper
We’ll start by preparing the dauphinoise potatoes. Turn the oven on to 160 degrees C. Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan along with 2 crushed cloves of garlic and slowly heat up to a gentle simmer for around ten minutes. While the sauce is simmering you’ll need to peel and slice the potatoes. Slice them into discs to about the width of a pound coin. Create a layer of slightly overlapping potatoes in an oven dish and season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce is ready, allow it to cool for a minute or so before pouring some over the first layer of potatoes. You don’t want to cover them completely with this first pour. Carry on layering the potatoes, seasoning as you go between the layers until all of the potatoes are used up. Pour over the rest of the sauce. You want the sauce to just come level with the top layer of potatoes. If you need some more sauce, just pour on some extra cream and milk quickly mixed together. Grate some cheese all over the top and pop it into the oven for up to 90 minutes.
You should start on the lentil stew after the potatoes have been in for about 20 minutes. Heat a pan up on a medium to high heat, add some olive oil and then the onions and garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes before adding in the port. Saute for a few more minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add in the carrots and herbs and crumble the stock cube over the pan. Pour in about a glassful of water and stir for a minute or so. Next, add the lentils. I used about half of a small bag. They will expand during cooking so remember this when you’re adding them. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce the heat so it’s steadily bubbling away. The lentils will need around 40 minutes to cook properly. Keep checking it every five or ten minutes and top it up with water if it’s getting dry. Also keep tasting it and seasoning it with salt and pepper as necessary.
Keep an eye on the potatoes and if they’re cooking a bit too quickly cover them in some tin foil before returning them to the oven.
Once the lentils are cooked to al dente style – they should have a similar texture to well cooked garden peas – remove the potato dauphinoise from the oven, portion it out and serve up with a good helping of the lentil stew. Enjoy!
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