The lentils ragout is in itself a vegan dish but accompanied with this wild garlic pesto becomes quite a different proposition. For the pesto, I like to blanch the wild garlic leaves in this instance so as not to overpower the other flavours but you may choose to leave raw if you want a stronger garlic flavour.
Ingredients (serves 4)
For the lentils
- 250g beluga or brown lentils
- 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped in small dice (brunoise)
- 2 celery sticks, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise and then in very small pieces
- 4-5 chestnut mushrooms, cut in small brunoise pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 4-5 ripe tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and finely chopped or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 750ml vegetable or vegan stock
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and extra for drizzling
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- A pinch of chilli flakes
- 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- A small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the pesto
- 2 handfuls of fresh wild garlic leaves
- A small handful of cashew nuts
- 20ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of half a lemon
Method
Bring a large pan to a medium heat and add the olive oil and chopped onion. Sweat the onion for 4-5 minutes and add the garlic and chopped mushrooms. Cook for a couple minutes further and add the carrots, celery, garlic and cumin next. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes before adding the lentils. Give everything a good stir and last add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves and stock.
Bring the lentils to the boil, lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook slowly for 45-50 minutes, adding a little more stock or water if necessary and until the lentils are fully cooked. Add the vinegar, parsley, chilli flakes and season with sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
To make the pesto, wash and drain the garlic leaves. Bring a pan with water to the boil and blanche the garlic leaves for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under a cold tap to stop them cooking. Drain again and squeeze all the water out.
Put the leaves in a small blender. Add the cashew nuts, olive oil, a little salt, lemon juice and zest and blitz. Use a rubber spatula to push down the garlic from the sides of the blender. Add a little cold water to thin if necessary.
To serve, spoon some lentils into a bowl, add some pesto and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.