| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound French green lentils (lentilles du Puy)
- 1/4 cup good olive oil, plus extra for salmon
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (3 carrots)
- 1 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or good canned broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
- Four 8-ounce center-cut salmon fillets, skin removed
- Three 5-pound chickens
- 3 large onions, unpeeled and quartered
- 6 carrots, unpeeled and halved
- 4 celery stalks with leaves, cut in thirds
- 4 parsnips, unpeeled and cut in half, optional
- 20 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 15 sprigs fresh thyme
- 20 sprigs fresh dill
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 15 minutes, then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saute pan, add the onions, leeks, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the drained lentils, celery, carrots, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add the vinegar and season, to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- For the salmon, heat a dry oven-proof saute pan over high heat for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, rub both sides of the salmon fillets with olive oil and season the tops very liberally with salt and pepper. When the pan is very hot, place the salmon fillets seasoning-sides down in the pan and cook over medium heat without moving them for 2 minutes, until very browned. Turn the fillets and place the pan in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the salmon is cooked rare. Spoon a mound of lentils on each plate and place a salmon fillet on top. Serve hot.
- Place the chickens, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, thyme, dill, garlic, salt, and peppercorns in a 16 to 20-quart stockpot with 7 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Skim the surface, as needed. Simmer uncovered for 4 hours. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander, discarding the chicken and vegetables, and chill. Discard the hardened fat, and then pack the broth in quart containers.
Reviews
Delicious!! I used red lentils instead and forgot to buy leeks, they turned more into a daal situation but it was still lovely! Such a filling yet well balanced dinner. AND, it was super easy!
There are very few recipes I don’t tweak, but this is one of them. Absolutely perfect as is. And this oven technique for salmon changed my salmon game. A++++
This was so good! I used a salmon rub (Rob with Love, Tom Douglas salmon rub) and just fried it on the stove in a table spoon of olive oil over med high heat, season side down 1st for about 4 minutes, then turned the heat down to med low and finished it on the skin side. The lentils are wonderful!! Makes a ton!!
Another go-to recipe for my house! Definitely makes a nice looking (and tasting) plated dinner for guests too. However, as many others noted, the prep time took me a lot longer than 15 minutes due to the excessive amount of vegetable chopping. In any case, it was definitely worth it, and made a wonderful complete meal. A few other notes: I did not make my own chicken stock and roasted the salmon completely in the oven, careful not to overcook it. Delicious!
Great recipe and took about an hour in total. I did make a lemon/butter/parsley sauce to pour over the fish. Lentils turned out fantastic! Agree with adding more carrots and less onion. Cooked the fish in a cast iron skillet. Going to add this to my regular rotation. Next time, I might keep the salmon skin on and peel off after cooking.
YUm1 I was not expecting this to be as flavorful as it was! Don’t leave out the vinegar. It’s amazing what that does for the dish. Ina never disappoints. Her recipes rock always.
I have made this lentil recipe as a side dish for many years. It is the perfect accompaniment with any meat main.
Made as recipe calls for except I used skin on salmon. Really wonderful flavors and my go to method to prepare salmon. Loved it!
This is amazing! It’s definitely going into rotation. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t chop all the veggies in 15 minutes, because I can’t! Ina rocks, her recipes never disappoint.
Delicious – followed the recipe as written except didn’t have French lentils and it was still great!