Description
Pressure Cooker French Green Lentils (Lentils du Puy)
Ingredients
- 1 pound French green lentils (lentils du Puy)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 leek, cleaned, green parts removed, and sliced thin (or a medium onion)
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- ½ celery rib, diced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
 (or dried thyme) - 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
 (or dried thyme)Instructions
- Rinse the lentils: Put the lentils du Puy in a strainer, and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Let stand to drain while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Saute the aromatics and toast the spices: Heat the oil and butter in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat until the butter stops foaming (Sauté mode in an electric pressure cooker). Add the leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and the herbes de Provence. Sauté until the leeks soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Pressure Cook the lentils for 10 minutes with a Natural Release: Stir in the lentils, 6 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon to loosen any bits of onion that stuck to the pot. Lock the pressure cooker lid. Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes in an electric pressure cooker or for 8 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. Once the cooking time is done, let the pressure come down with a natural release, about 20 minutes more. (if you are in a hurry, quick release any remaining pressure after 15 minutes.)
- Taste for seasoning and serve: Open the pressure cooker lid (away from you - the steam is hot). Stir in the pepper, then taste for seasoning - the lentils will need more salt. Add the salt, tasting as you go, until the flavor goes from washed out to full-bodied. (I usually add another teaspoon of fine sea salt.) Serve and enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Lentils du Puy were the first vegetables to be certified with the French Controlled Designation of Origin (AOC) status. This means they must be grown in Le Puy-en-Velay to be called lentils du Puy. If you're a wine nut like I am, you know of AOCs from their definition of the major wine regions of France - Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cote du Rhone, and so on. I was amazed that lentils were the first vegetable to be protected by an AOC. (I learned this from Alton Brown's Pantry Raid 6: Lentils show. Actually...a lot of what I know about cooking is from Alton Brown.)
So, if you find French green lentils, they are the same lentil - but they weren't grown in Le Puy-en-Velay.
This recipe makes fantastic leftovers. I freeze it in 2 cup containers, and I have grab-and-go lunch that takes five minutes in the microwave to be ready.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: French