Caramelised baby carrots with puy lentils

Carrots and lentils are always a good combination, and here salty, sweet sticky carrots are beautiful with thyme and red wine lentils.

Caramelised baby carrots with puy lentils. Credit: Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 bunch baby carrots,
• Vegetable oil
• 1 heaped tbsp brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp oat butter

Lentils

• 1 cup puy lentils
• ¼ cup red wine
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme

Garnish

• Reserved carrot tops
• Lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Remove the carrot tops, leaving about 3cm of the stalk attached. Reserve tops.
2. Add carrots and a little oil to a hot pan, cook for a few minutes to colour.
3. Add the lentils, vegetable stock, red wine, bay leaf and thyme to a pot, cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add stock, brown sugar, oat butter, salt and pepper to the carrots, cover with a cartouche and cook over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. Remove the cartouche and season with salt.
5. Serve the lentils topped with the caramelised carrots and spoonfuls of the sauce. Garnish with sprigs of reserved carrot tops and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.