Tonight’s post is another of my attempts to foolproof a single serving dish. Previously, I have made single servings of rice, mashed potato, and farro. This time I want to tackle another of those tough to cook ingredients – lentils. On the stove top, lentils have a reputation for either being under or over cooked. Under cooked lentils are crunchy and when over cooked, they blow out and become mushy. Couple that challenge with also cooking a small amount and the effort becomes frustrating. Sous vide cooking is once again coming to the rescue so we never have under or over cooked lentils. As a bonus, we can flavor them while they cook to get consistent and enhanced results instead of the unpredictable results everyone dreads. And in this case, it becomes a one bag dish! Sous vide makes it simple… just bag it, seal it, soak it, and enjoy it. Now let’s start cooking some lentils!

Set the water bath to 190 degrees F. Clean the lentils in cold water and drain well. Add the lentils and remaining ingredients into a recloseable bag and remove the air using the water displacement  method before sealing. Place the bag into the water bath and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove from the water bath and using a small fine strainer, drain over a bowl. Remove the bay leaf and place the lentils into a clean bowl.

Add 3/4 of the chopped parsley and the dressing. Gently toss the lentils and allow to cool slightly. Garnish with remaining fresh parsley.

Enjoy!