Warm Lentil Salad

This will be a bit of a throwback for me.  The recipe got separated from the photos, and my memory can be a bit spotty.  But here it is:

      Wednesday is a great day for food.  You know why?  The New York Times Dining Section is featured on Wednesdays.  Some weeks are better than others for recipes, and some weeks I wish desperately that I lived in New York and could try the restaurants featured, but overall, I love it.  I clipped tons of recipes from there, including one for "Warm Lentil and Pork Belly Salad."  Yummy!  I adapted it so it was more practical for me, and wound up with a rather delicious meal.


Warm Lentil Salad
1 Onion, halved
2 cloves
1 carrot, peeled
4 sprigs of thyme
1 bayleaf
1 package thick-cut bacon
1 C lentils
1 lb fingerling or small potatoes
2 small gherkins
1 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 C Parsley
2 smallish green onions

     Start by halving the onion.  Stick a clove in 1 half of the onion, half the other half (so it's quarters), and stick the 2nd clove in one of the quarters.  Place the clove-stuck onion half, carrot, 2 sprigs of thyme, and the bacon in a pot of water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes or so, until the bacon is cooked.  Pull the bacon out, and cut the strips into halves or thirds, and keep it warm until serving.  I recommend saving the liquid as broth for future recipes.
     While the bacon is cooking, combine the lentils, clove-stuck onion quarter, 2 thyme sprigs, and bay leaf in a pot with about 3 cups of salted water.  Bring it to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, and cook about 20 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy.  Drain the lentils (if necessary), and remove the extra stuff.  Compost it if you like.  Keep the lentils warm until serving.
     Hopefully you have a fair few burners on your oven (and a number of pots), because you should also get those potatoes cooked.  Give them a good wash, toss them in a pot of salted water, and boil them until they are tender enough to be poked with a fork.  And say it with me: keep warm until serving.  (Don't drain them and the water ought to do it for you.)
     And while all of those are cooking (the recipe I worked from kept saying "meanwhile"), you can get started on your dressing!  Finely chop the gherkins, capers, and remaining 1/4 onion.  Combine in a smallish mixing bowl with oil, vinegar, and mustard, and whisk like crazy until it takes on a thickish, creamy texture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chop the parsley and green onion.
     To serve, half the potatoes and arrange them on the plate.   Place lentils alongside the potatoes, and arrange the bacon on top of that.  Fold the parsley and green onion into the dressing, and spoon it on top.  If desired, garnish with additional parsley.

This struck me as rather French, though I must admit an extremely limited knowledge of French cuisine.  More to the point, though, it was delicious.  I might have under-seasoned my lentils, because I found myself wishing for more of the dressing, with all its salty, tangy components.  That's not to say they didn't take on wonderful flavors from the aromatics with which they were simmered; they did.  My family also enjoyed it.  There was a simplistic elegance about it, but the capers and gherkins really appealed to us.  They're salty, familiar, tasty… And who doesn't love bacon?