Soot & Saffron

The lentil pot

For four. Brown lentils, not the orange ones. They hold their shape for the hour this takes.

In the pot

  1. 300 g brown lentils, rinsed
  2. 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 cloves of garlic
  3. 1 tsp cumin, a pinch of saffron crushed in a spoon of hot water
  4. Salt, olive oil, a bay leaf

Sweat the onion and carrot in oil until the onion is clear, not brown. Garlic in last. Cumin for half a minute, then the lentils, the bay, and water to cover by two fingers.

Simmer 45 minutes. The saffron water goes in at the end, off the heat. Salt after that. If you salt at the start the skins split.