Lentil Bourguinion

Lentil Bourguinon, with onion "bowl"

My favourite cuisine by far is French. The cheese, wine, delicate sauces and freshly baked pastries are amazing, but what I enjoy most is the rustic flavours a lot of French cooking retains. Unfortunately for me, most French cooking is decidedly meat oriented. So this is my vegetarian take on a classic French dish - Beef Bourguinion. It's easy enough to eat for Sunday night dinner, like we did, but polished enough to serve to guests (especially with a presentation like the one I suggest below instead of the traditional stew-like serving). Even your carnivorous friends will enjoy it (mine did!).

You probably have this in your cupboards already!

  Ingredients: 
 1 large yellow or vidallia onion
 2 handfuls of mushrooms (use white or mix
 portobellos & porcini - gives it a beefy taste)
 1 can lentils
 2 tbsp soya sauce
 1/3 cup red wine
 1 tbsp olive oil
 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
 1/2 tsp onion salt
 1 tsp sage
 1 tbsp fresh thyme (remove leaves from sprig)
 1 bay leaf


 salt and pepper
 fresh baguette to serve on the side


Instructions: 
1. Cut onion in half. Chop off the end of each onion. Pop out the centre layers of the onion so 3 outside layers remain - this will form the "bowl" for your lentil/mushroom mix.
2. Roast the outside layer onion bowl (with a splash of olive oil and cracked pepper and salt) in the oven at 400 F for approx. 10 minutes or until slightly softened.
3. Chop the centre layers of the onion and set aside.

Make sure the "bowls" are thick enough to maintain shape

4. Finely slice (or quarter) the mushrooms. Fry on medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan in a splash of olive oil.
5. Once the mushrooms are sweating (emitting their own liquid) add sliced onions and garlic. Fry until onions are translucent, approx. 2-3 minutes.

These mushrooms are "sweating"

6. Add lentils and spices. Cook for 3 more minutes.
7. Add wine and soya sauce (if you want extra sauce to soak bread in, double the amount for both wine and soya sauce). Simmer for 5 minutes or until you're done slicing bread and setting the table.
8. To serve, place onion bowl in centre of plate and spoon the mushroom/lentil mixture on top so it's spilling over the sides. Serve with french bread and wine.

All ingredients. Double the liquid ingredients for extra sauce. 

We paired this with a Malbec, which we promptly recycled and I can't recall the name of. Regardless, this dish calls for red wine, something a bit earthy, and mild tannin. French Pinot is an obvious choice given the name of the dish, but Merlot or Syrah could be enjoyable as well.

In other exciting news - I  have a friend that is looking to get into food photography and would like to take pictures for The Truth About Grapes! Poor quality iPhone photos will end with the next posting.