You may have one whole cooked chop that you couldn’t eat, or you may have only a few bites. It doesn’t matter—the meat is really just a garnish to the lentils.
Ingredients
1/2 cup French green lentils
2 tablespoons chopped bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto
1 shallot, or 1/2 small onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1/2 rib celery, chopped, or the equivalent amount of fennel
About 1/4 small jalapeño or hot red pepper, chopped
2 teaspoons light olive oil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 bay leaf
Leftover cooked lamb, cut in small pieces
Salt
Preparation
Rinse and drain the lentils. Sauté gently in a small pan the bacon, shallot, garlic, celery, and jalapeño in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Add the lentils, thyme, and bay leaf, and cover by an inch with water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Fold the lamb pieces into the lentils. Salt to taste, and cook another 5 minutes. Then supper is on the table.
The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.
Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.
