Day 47: Cabbage & Leek Gratin with Red Lentil Stew

The Cabbage & Leek Gratin with Mustard Cream recipe is from a lovely book called Vegetarian suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen

A lovely book, full of beautiful pictures. The recipes are a little more work than I'm usually willing to do on a work day, but the ones I've tried have been worth the work.

There was still half a green cabbage left from the last CSA box of the season, so I picked this recipe to use that up and bought some leeks to go with it.  I added some crumbled Feta cheese. The gratin is rather mild and creamy (the ingredients include sour cream, eggs, flour and the veggies) and the mustard cream is an excellent compliment (I used Annie's organic Dijon mustard and Pulaski grated horseradish in the mustard cream - and it had some zing). The recipe is out there on the web if you search for it

Deborah Madison suggested serving the Gratin with cannellini beans and braised carrots, but I had some red lentils on hand and remembered a recipe I used to make from a book I picked up sometime in the 80s on a discount book table...


A few of my favorite recipes come from this book. I've gone back to it again and again over the years. It was published in 1979 - before the fiber craze really got started I think. Now it is listed on Amazon.com as a collectible.
Lentil Stew
2 teaspoons olive oil (original recipe called for 2 tablespoons)
1 carrot, diced
2 leeks diced (original recipe call for them to be thinly sliced)
1 onion diced
2 stalks celery thinly sliced
2 cups Jersey Fresh crushed tomatoes (original recipe called for 1 x 14oz can tomatoes)
2/3 cup stock (I used 2/3 cup water with a generous teaspoon full of the Verdurette I made at the end of August - this is a fabulous thing - I have mentioned it before - check it out on Leda Meridith's blog)
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup red lentils
Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the carrot, leeks, onion and celery until soft. Add the tomatoes, stock, seasoning, parsley and lentils and simmer gently for 1-1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Serves 4