Recipe for stewed lentils flavored with sage and rosemary

Ingredients for 4 people:

• 100 g. of dried lentils
• 100 g. of sweet bacon
• half onion
• a clove of garlic
• half dried tomato
• a celery rib
• a carrot
• 100 g. of peeled tomatoes
• a sprig of rosemary
• a few fresh sage leaves
• half a glass of white wine
• half a liter of water
• extra virgin olive oil
• Origan
• salt
• pepper

Preparation:

To prepare excellent lentils with sauce, the first step is to soak the lentils in plenty of water for at least half an hour. During this phase, it is important to check the lentils and discard the empty or damaged ones and pay attention to any pebbles or sand residues present.

After half an hour, drain the lentils, but make sure you don’t leave them in the water for too long because they risk falling apart during cooking. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion, garlic, dried tomato, celery and carrots.

In a medium saucepan, which you have a lid on, sauté the extra virgin olive oil, sweet bacon, carrots and celery. After about 5 minutes, add the onion and dried tomato and finally the garlic. To prevent the sautéed from burning, blend everything with a little white wine.

Cut the peeled tomatoes into small pieces, removing any residual skins, and add them to the pan. Bring everything to the boil over high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Heat the water separately, add it and bring back to the boil. Hot water avoids a blockage in cooking and speeds up preparation.

Add the drained lentils, flavored with the sprig of rosemary, whole sage leaves, salt, pepper and oregano according to your taste.

Bring to a boil again, put the heat to low, cover with the lid and simmer for an hour. Stir occasionally so as not to stick to the bottom. Eliminate the sprigs of rosemary and the leaves of sage because they could be annoying to find while eating.

Garnish with fresh sage leaves on the plate and serve not too hot.

The dish goes perfectly with toasted rustic bread, to better enjoy the flavor of lentils and spices.

You can accompany the dish with a red wine such as a Tuscan Sangiovese or an Aglianico from Puglia.

Enjoy your meal!