BLACK LENTIL RISOTTO

I recently saw this recipe in a magazine that was promoting careers and opportunities at a polytechnical school.  The Red Seal Chef who was being profiled, has made black lentil risotto as a side dish to go with a variety of entrees.  Black lentils are also called beluga lentils because of their shape and colour.  They look like beluga caviar when cooked.  In my stock pile of lentils I just had brown and red lentils and an old bag of french lentils.  You can substitute french lentils for black lentils but I wanted to try black lentils so I went shopping and bought french green lentils, green lentils and black lentils.  I like lentils and they are my favourite bean along with chick peas.  I am now stocked up with many kinds of lentils ready to be cooked in a variety of ways.

The recipe turned out great and both the DH and I enjoyed it.  The richness of the risotto comes from the parmesan cheese.  The recipe does not use a lot of cheese.  I did take photos of the risotto cooking in the pan and in a serving dish but the colour of the risottos was dark and did not look as good as it really tasted.  I decided to take of photo of it on a dinner plate.

Vegetables cooking in the pan.

Black lentils added to the vegetables.

Risotto is served with chicken wings, roasted mushrooms and salad.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup minced celery

1/4 cup minced carrots

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup black lentils

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse and drain the black lentils.  Heat the chicken stock.  I heated the stock in the microwave for two minutes.  

Heat the butter in a large frying pan on a high temperature.  Add the shallot, carrot, celery and garlic and reduce the heat to medium.  Saute until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are softened.  Add the washed lentils to the pan and stir until the lentils are mixed throughout the vegetables.  

Add two cups of the stock and keep on stirring for a minute.  As the liquid gets absorbed add 1/2 cup of stock at a time until the lentils are al dente.  Stir frequently.  After most of the stock is absorbed, add the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted and is mixed throughout the dish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 4 to 6. 

Adapted from chef Rob Harrison.