Swabian Brown Lentils Pot with Spätzle & Vinegar

Ingredients

• 1 cup Brown Lentils, rinsed
• 1 Carrot, diced
• 1 Leek, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 4 cups vegetable or beef stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1½ tbsp red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
• 8 oz dried spätzle or egg noodles
• Salt, pepper, and chopped parsley

Method

1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium and sweat the onion, Carrot, and Leek until softened, about 5 minutes. Dust with flour and stir 1 minute.
2. Add the Brown Lentils, stock, and bay leaf. Simmer, partly covered, 30–35 minutes until the Brown Lentils is tender but not mushy.
3. Cook the spätzle in salted water per the package while the pot simmers; drain.
4. Season the stew with salt, pepper, and the vinegar — it should taste bright and gently sour, not just earthy.
5. Ladle over the spätzle and finish with parsley. Swabian grandmothers add a sliced frankfurter; you have permission.