A Sudden Air of Winter
20 October 2009
It seems like we skipped autumn this year, and went straight from summer to winter. I couldn't believe my eyes when it was actually snowing here in Munich last week. Not far outside the city the snow started leaving a bizarre white sparkle on the still largely green trees, and coming a bit closer to the Alps the landscape was suddenly converted into a real winter wonderland. I felt like drinking glühwein and eating lebkuchen…
While giving reason to hope for a good skiing season, this onset of winter really came all too sudden, making me want to lock myself into our flat, turn the heating up and not leave the house. And this is exactly what we decided to do on Saturday evening – instead of dining out I prepared us a nice, warming lentil stew to counter the wintery weather.
I particularly like the little, greenish Puy lentils, which never turn floury as they get soft. And actually still being wild mushroom season, I got us some really nice chanterelles (lots of them...), which combined wonderfully with the lentils. Finally I used some spices, sweet paprika and nutmeg to be precise, to season the stew very subtly, just giving it a certain touch without any aroma being too obvious or standing out. To go with I fried us some lovely veal bratwurst; but frankfurter, or fried eggs, or indeed just nothing else would certainly work just as well…
Warming Chanterelle and Lentil Stew
| serves 4 as a main |
| 250g Puy lentils |
| 350g chanterelles |
| 2 carrots |
| 1 kohlrabi |
| 2 tomatoes |
| 3-4 smallish onions |
| 3 big dents of garlic |
| 40-50g of diced bacon, possibly slightly smoked |
| about 400ml vegetable stock, rather concentrated |
| a dash of white wine |
| 3 branches of rosemary |
| 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika powder |
| a pinch of nutmeg |
| a dash of virgin olive oil |
| some oil for frying |
to go with (optional) |
| sausages, e.g. veal bratwurst or frankfurter |
Peel and julienne (or very finely dice) the kohlrabi and the carrots; peel the tomatoes (dipping them in boiling water makes their skin come off easily), cut into about 5mm cubes, and set aside. Finely chop the onions, mash the dents of garlic and gently toast both in a little bit of oil until golden. Shift to the sides of the saucepan, turn the heat slightly up and use the spot in the centre to roast the diced bacon until a bit crunchy on the outside. Mix through, add the julienned root vegetables and sauté briefly.
Rinse the lentils, drain, and add to the saucepan. Pour over the (rather concentrated) vegetable stock, cover with a lid and let simmer lightly. After about 15 minutes add the chanterelles (cleaned and, if too large, chopped), the diced tomatoes as well as a dash of white wine. Stir well, then place the whole brances of rosemary into the stew, cover with a lid and let simmer for another 15 minutes, so the lentils get to cook for about 30 minutes in total.
Refine with a teaspoon of sweet paprika powder, a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg and finally stir in a dash of virgin olive oil.
The stew tastes lovely with some sausages (veal bratwurst or frankfurter), or with some fried eggs, or also just on its own.