Lentils with Spaetzle

Ingredients

• 250 g lentils (e.g., red lentils)
• 1 Carrot
• 1 knollensellerie (celery root)
• 0.5 stalk leeks
• 2 tbsp olive oil (20 g)
• 800 ml vegetable broth
• 250 g spelt flour
• Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 2 onions
• 80 g breakfast bacon
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 0.5 bunch fresh oregano (10 g)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Soak the lentils overnight. Peel, clean and dice the carrot and celery root. Wash, clean and slice the leeks into rings. In a pot, sauté the carrot, celery root and leeks in hot oil over medium heat. Add the broth and the lentils. Cover and simmer gently for about 45 minutes.

2. 2.

   For the spaetzle dough, combine the spelt flour and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, whisk in about 100 ml water until smooth, add the eggs and gradually add more water (about 75 ml) until a thick, elastic dough forms. Beat with a wooden spoon until it starts to bubble. Cover and let rise for about 15 minutes.

3. 3.

   Peel, halve and cut the onions into wedges. In a hot pan over medium heat, sauté the onions and bacon together for about 5 minutes.

4. 4.

   Season the lentils with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

5. 5.

   Beat the spaetzle dough again and use a spaetzle press to drop portions of dough into a pot of boiling salted water. Stir occasionally; when the spaetzle float after 1-2 minutes, lift them with a slotted spoon and drain. Add them to the lentils.

6. 6.

   Wash the oregano, shake dry and pluck the leaves. Chop half finely. Arrange the lentils and spaetzle on plates and garnish with onions, bacon, chopped oregano and remaining leaves.