Hello my loves,

Just a quick one from me today my darlings 💛. I reached a big milestone on a project this week, one that I’ve been working on for quite some time. I’m looking forward to sharing the details with you when the time is right, but for now it’s suffice to say it’s full of beauty, love and deliciousness (which probably comes as no surprise). It's been a big piece of work, and one that I've loved, but now that I'm over the first hump, it's time to cut myself some slack in celebration :). So I’ve pared back the rest of my week, and plan to puddle through the next few days in a very quiet and restful manner, recalibrating and enjoying pretty much whatever I like. However, before I switch off the technology, I did want to share a gorgeous recipe with you.

Last week the wonderful Kim of Sydney Sprouts asked if I’d share the recipe we made for our Free Food Fridays that featured her beautiful lentils. And of course my answer was yes!!! I've mentioned Kim before, she was such a huge supporter of our Covid community initiative, and we were lucky enough to make our nourishing lentil braise with fresh, sprouted lentils, very generously donated by her. If you haven’t tried fresh lentils, I can highly recommend them, they are incredibly delicious and worth acquiring if you can (her website is a good place to start). If you can’t access them, dried brown lentils will work equally well in this dish.

This really is such a nourishing bowl of late-winter goodness. I'm eating a bowl of it right now and it is just such a warming hug for my belly. The chorizo lends it a handsome red hue, and I must admit to finding the fiery oil it exudes as it cooks particularly seductive. I’ve altered the recipe slightly from the one we served, because I wanted it to feature fennel, which is gorgeously in season right now. The fennel adds a faint sweetness which plays off beautifully against the strength of the chorizo. So here you are my darlings, my recipe for braised lentils with chorizo, fennel and parsley. Have an incredible weekend!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

500g chorizo sausage, made from pastured pork
A little olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
600g fennel, chopped pretty finely (about 2 medium bulbs, you can use the stalks too)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
375ml white wine
350g fresh lentils (or use 250g dried brown lentils)
1 litre beef or chicken stock (see my IGTV to learn how to make your own
A large handful of parsley, about 100g
Parmesan or pecorino, to serve
Salt and pepper

Chop your chorizo into 2cm chunks (I snip mine with scissors). Heat a little olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole dish, add the chorizo, and cook until it starts to brown. Add the onion and fennel, and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the fennel has softened a little. Add the garlic, stir for a minute or so, then add the white wine. Bring to the boil, and cook until the wine has reduced by ¾ of the original volume. Add the lentils and stock, bring back to the boil, then cover and cook on a low heat for 30-45 mins, or until the lentils are tender. If you’re using dried lentils, you might need to add more stock or a little water too - just check it a couple of times while it’s cooking and add more if it starts to look dry. Once cooked, taste and season to your liking. Chop the parsley and stir it through. Ladle into bowls and grate over a little parmesan or pecorino before serving.

Love, Rachel xxx