For this week, I made a lentil dish that meat lovers absolutely love. There are lots of types of lentils, but I chose French Puy lentils. They are small green/gray lentils that take more time than red or brown lentils but they stand up to cooking by not getting mushy and they have a mild herbal flavor that I like. Other lentils will work just fine, but keep checking on them while they are cooking to prevent them from splitting and getting too soft.

I often make lentil soup, which I love, but I wanted to create something that felt more like a meal. I used the lentils as a base, like rice or pasta, and topped it with roasted vegetables. I used carrots, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. In addition I halved and boiled some small rainbow potatoes and sautéed some hen-of-the-woods mushrooms in some butter. A mix of the vegetables went over the lentils and I added some ricotta cheese, sea salt and chopped parsley. Enjoy!