Saucisses aux Lentilles Express
(so-cease oh lawn-tee ex-press)
La Popote: Everyday French Weeknight Dinners
This isn't a three-day cassoulet you have to babysit when you walk through the door at six o'clock on a Tuesday; a standard supermarket sack of brown lentils and a skillet where the sausages split and hiss are all you need. In France, a busy mother wouldn't hesitate to throw this into her beloved Cocotte-Minute pressure cooker to cut an hour of simmering down to twenty minutes, and we are doing the exact same thing using the American Instant Pot, swapping regional pork for deeply smoked Kielbasa. Hit it with a heavy spoonful of Dijon off the heat.
Before you start
Stud the onion with cloves.
Push the two whole cloves directly into the flesh of the halved onion. This infuses the broth with a subtle, warming spice without you having to hunt down tiny cloves in the finished dish.
Assemble the bouquet garni.
Tie the fresh thyme sprigs and bay leaves together with a piece of kitchen twine so they can be easily retrieved from the pot later.
Ingredients
- thick cut smoked bacon4 oz
- smoked Kielbasa sausage1 lb
- yellow onion1 med
- whole cloves2
- carrots3 med
- garlic2 cloves
- fresh thyme3 sprigs
- bay leaves2
- French green lentils1 lb
- low sodium chicken broth4 cup
- Dijon mustard1 tbsp
- black pepperto taste
- kosher saltto taste
Method
- 01
Render the bacon to build the savory foundation.
Set your Instant Pot to the Sauté setting, add the bacon matchsticks, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the fat begins to render and they turn lightly crisp.
- 02
Sear the sausage to develop the flavor.
Toss in the sliced Kielbasa and cook for another 3 minutes just to get a slight golden edge on the meat.
- 03
Sweat the aromatics in the pork fat.
Add the carrot rounds and smashed garlic, stirring them for about 2 minutes until they are glossy and fragrant, then press Cancel to turn off the Sauté function.
- 04
Combine the lentils and aromatics.
Add the rinsed French green lentils and chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits of pork, then submerge the clove-studded onion halves and the bouquet garni.
- 05
Cook under high pressure for twelve minutes.
Secure the lid, ensure the valve is set to Sealing, and pressure cook on High for 12 minutes, which preserves a pleasant, authentic bite in the lentils.
- 06
Release the pressure and finish the dish.
Allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 5 minutes before performing a quick release, then discard the onion and herbs, stir in the Dijon mustard, and finally season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
Notes
Never salt the lentils until the very end.
Salt reacts with the lentil skins and prevents them from softening during the cook. The bacon, sausage, and broth contain plenty of sodium, so wait until you open the pot to adjust the seasoning.
Choose the right lentils.
Genuine French green lentils hold their structure beautifully under pressure. Resist the urge to use standard brown, red, or yellow lentils, as they will quickly turn to mush in the Instant Pot.
From Cook French in America.