Sour lentils

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g lentils
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 carrot(s)
• ½ celery root
• 150 ml vegetable stock
• butter
• salt and pepper
• Vinegar
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• possibly flour for binding

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Place the lentils in a sufficiently large bowl and cover generously with warm to hot water. Season with salt (a little tip: if you test the water with your finger and it almost tastes too salty, then there’s enough salt in it; this also applies to the pasta water). Don’t soak overnight as always recommended; 1.5 to 2 hours is sufficient. Dice the onion, peel the carrot, quarter it lengthwise, and chop it finely. Cut the celery into thin strips and also dice it finely. Heat the butter in a large pot, add the carrots and celery, and fry for about 3-5 minutes, then add the onions and fry for another 3-4 minutes. In the meantime, make a stock and drain the pickled lentils, but reserving the water. Add the lentils to the vegetables and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring. Then deglaze with the vegetable stock, add a little more salt and pepper, a pinch of sugar, a little vinegar, and half of the lentil water. Simmer on the lowest heat for about 30-40 minutes with the lid partially open, stirring frequently, including the bottom. Don’t let it boil, or the lentils will become tough. Lentils are high in protein, and if it gets too hot, they’ll be just like meat: they’ll toughen up. If the lentil mixture is too thin, thicken it with a little flour. Finally, season to taste with salt, pepper, vinegar, and sugar. This goes perfectly with wavy spaetzle (also known as ‘spaetzle’) or regular spaetzle (also known as ‘spaetzle’) and bacon and/or sausages or wieners.