Pork with Green Lentils (Petit Salé aux Lentilles)
Pork with Green Lentils (Petit Salé aux Lentilles)
Serves: to serve 6
Prep Time: 30 Minutes + waiting
Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Ready In:
2 hrs
+ waiting
ingredients
2 lb -
hock of ham (pork knuckle) or shank
- coarse salt
2 tablespoons - duck or goose fat
3 medium - carrots
2 sticks - celery
1 medium - onion
- salt
1 lb - green lentils (lentilles vertes) - uncooked
- chicken stock
2 - bay leaves
1 sprig - rosemary
1 stalk - thyme
3 cloves - garlic
1 - clove
6 - pork sausages
3 stick - parsley (to garnish)
- coarse salt
2 tablespoons - duck or goose fat
3 medium - carrots
2 sticks - celery
1 medium - onion
- salt
1 lb - green lentils (lentilles vertes) - uncooked
- chicken stock
2 - bay leaves
1 sprig - rosemary
1 stalk - thyme
3 cloves - garlic
1 - clove
6 - pork sausages
3 stick - parsley (to garnish)
directions
- Salt the pork by rubbing it liberally with handfuls of salt. Leave to stand in the fridge for at least four hours (preferably overnight) in a non-reactive container (like a plastic box).
- Wash the salt off with cold water. Shake the meat dry then place it in a large pan and cover with cold water. Leave for 20 minutes to remove any impurities then pour off the water and stand the meat to one side.
- Peel the carrots and cut into ¾" (2cm) lengths. Cut the celery into ¾" (2cm) lengths. Peel and chop the onion. Apply a medium-low heat to the pan and add the duck or goose fat. Once the fat has melted, add the carrots, celery and onions, along with a healthy pinch of salt. Stir the vegetables to coat in the fat then cover the pan and sweat the vegetables for 5-8 minutes. Sweating helps to draw out moisture and softens the cell walls.
- Once the onions are translucent, add the lentils with just enough stock to cover them. Peel and crush (mince) the garlic. Add the bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, crushed garlic and the clove, then put the meat back in the pan. Cover the pan and cook on low heat (only just simmering, but no more) for one hour. Prick the sausages, brown them very quickly in a very hot frying pan, cut them in two, then add them to the Petit Salé. Cook for a further 20 minutes.
- Remove the meat from the pan. Allow to stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly then cut off any skin and fat and discard. Carve the meat into thick slices and stir it back into the Petit Salé. Serve hot in a soup plates with plenty of vegetables and a little cooking juice, together with a garnish of finely chopped parsley. It is ideally eaten with fresh crusty bread with a bottle of sturdy red to hand.