French Lentils with Kale and Shrimp

Do you ever find yourself zombieously wandering around your kitchen, scanning the pantry inventory for dinner: wild rice, lentils, oats, cob webs. WAIT, oh ew.

And then you drag yourself out to the garden, squinting into the blinding sun to check out what’s left of the season: kale, some herbs, a few tomatoes, weeds. WAIT, oh no.

And then you make your way back inside and lethargically pull open the refrigerator door to skim over the last of the perishables: butter, half a lemon, some orange juice, a dead fly. WAIT, oh my stars.

This isn’t me I’m writing about. No way, man. I’m always 100% on TOP of my game when it comes to meal planning, prepping and cooking.

Yeah, I couldn’t get through that sentence without snorting.

Actually, I’m all about the hodge-podge staple dinner. It’s the lazy (wo)man’s fast track to sublime happiness.

Now, to clean that fridge. Ay yi yi.

p.s. What’s your favorite staple dinner? Holla!

French Lentils with Kale and Shrimp:

 

 

 

What it took for 2:

* 1 cup green french lentils
* 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1 bunch kale, ends trimmed and cut into ribbons
* 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbs. Herbs De Provence
* 1 pinch crushed red pepper
* 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* juice from half a lemon
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 1/4 fresh parsley, chopped
* 1/2 tsp coarse salt
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Cook the lentils in boiling water until tender, 25 minutes. Drain, if necessary.

On a plate, toss the shrimp with the Herbs De Provence and crushed red pepper.

Heat 2 Tbs oil in a medium skillet over medium-high. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and sear for 2 minutes. Flip and sear 30 more seconds. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Scrap up the good browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid has mostly absorbed, add the garlic and bloom for 30 seconds. Add the kale and cherry tomatoes; saute until wilted, 1 minute.

To the pot with the lentils, add the kale mixture and seared shrimp. Taste and season with salt and pepper, accordingly. Drizzle with remaining oil and spritz with lemon. Toss together and serve with the parsley as garnish!

Bistro eatin’, baby.

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30 Responses to French Lentils with Kale and Shrimp

  1. carly {carlyklock} August 17, 2011 at 3:00 pm #
    yum, yum! is it lunchtime yet? bev's bistro for leftovers?
  2. Lauren August 17, 2011 at 3:46 pm #
    That last photo is BEAUTIFUL!
    • Bev Weidner August 17, 2011 at 4:16 pm #
      Why thank you so much, Lauren! Who paid you to say that? :)
      • Trellis June 26, 2015 at 7:09 pm #
        Hi Mrs.Weidner I am about to make this for the 2nd time and just thought I should say THANKS!!! it is firkin fantastic!!!
  3. Katie August 17, 2011 at 3:57 pm #
    These are my favorite types of dinners! We call them pantry-clean-outs.
  4. jessie August 17, 2011 at 4:23 pm #
    yes! love it! we make almost this exact same thing at least 2 or 3 times a month! i usually use a red bell pepper instead of tomatoes and fresh spinach instead of kale... definitely going to try it your way next, though!
  5. Jenna August 17, 2011 at 5:05 pm #
    Mmmm! I love me some French lentils. Your photography is really quite stunning (and no, I haven't been compensated to say that--it's true! =).
    • Bev Weidner August 17, 2011 at 5:44 pm #
      Aww, you're too kind!
  6. Karla August 17, 2011 at 6:57 pm #
    I'm pretty sure everything about this is perfect. Amazing photos as usual!
  7. Carolyn | Fresh Cut Spaces August 17, 2011 at 7:06 pm #
    This look delicious! And the photos are so gorgeous... almost too pretty to eat!
  8. Laural @ Being Healthier August 17, 2011 at 9:53 pm #
    oh great photos but I have never heard of french lentils! ? What makes em French ??! I love Kale in almost anything! It is my favorite superfood by far!
    • Bev Weidner August 18, 2011 at 12:07 am #
      Thank you, Laural! Well, the French lentils are darker in color, and also harder, if that makes sense. They are more like rocks, as opposed to just green lentils. Regular lentils are softer and lighter in color. Thanks for the comment! (I love kale too. We wear friendship bracelets.)
  9. Cassie (Bake Your Day) August 17, 2011 at 11:58 pm #
    That shrimp looks amazing. Awesome combo Bev!
  10. Kristy August 18, 2011 at 2:35 am #
    Just found your blog and it's beautiful! Such great photos too!
  11. Alison @ ingredients, Inc. August 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm #
    This looks great. I am a sucker for lentils! Beautiful pictures girl!
  12. Rebecca ~ Sweet Baby Yams August 18, 2011 at 8:44 pm #
    Your pictures are amazing!
    • Bev Weidner August 18, 2011 at 9:35 pm #
      Thank you so much Rebecca! I appreciate you dropping by!
  13. Heather April 29, 2013 at 6:53 pm #
    This was delicious! I doubled the recipe to feed my family of six. Even my preschoolers loved it! I will definitely make this again.
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  15. T reeves April 2, 2015 at 8:36 pm #
    Hi and thank you for this simple? Delishious meal!! I just made this and OMG is it tasty!
  16. Heather September 3, 2015 at 12:25 pm #
    Hi Bev, I'm doing an article on 10 Easy, Healthy, Tasty Batch Cooking Dishes For Your Low Carb Diet and I'd like to feature this recipe as one of the 10 if that's okay with you? It was delicious! I also pinned this on one of my boards on Pinterest. Thank you for sharing it. :-) Of course I will credit back to you with a link which will drive more traffic to your site. Please let me know if that doesn't work for you. Thanks, Heather Here's my Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/4HourBody/main-dish-recipes-low-carb/ Here's my website to check out the article: https://www.pinterest.com/4HourBody/main-dish-recipes-low-carb/
    • Bev Weidner September 4, 2015 at 5:51 am #
      Sure thing! Thanks for checking!
      • Heather September 6, 2015 at 11:01 pm #
        It's up now if you'd like to check it out. Here's the link: http://www.4hourbodygirl.com/10-easy-healthy-tasty-batch-cooking-dishes-for-your-low-carb-diet/ Thanks Bev!
  17. Jo July 13, 2016 at 11:08 am #
    I recently used this for inspiration when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my herbs de provence... I used spinach and onion instead of kale and tomato. It came out absolutely wonderful, thanks for the idea!
  18. sheetal July 31, 2017 at 2:28 am #
    Oh man. I love how decadent yet simple these are!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. WIAW…Kind Of « Lauren Loves Good Food - October 5, 2011 [...] French Lentils with Kale and Shrimp. [...]
  2. 50 Kale Recipes | Wunda Woman Wellness - December 10, 2013 […] 37. French Lentils with Kale and Prawns […]
  3. 12 Seafood Ideas with Shrimps – GleamItUp - June 29, 2014 […] via bevcooks.com […]
  4. 10 Easy, Healthy, Tasty Batch Cooking Dishes For Your Low Carb Diet - 4- HOUR BODY GIRL - September 3, 2015 […] FRENCH LENTILS WITH KALE AND SHRIMP from bevcooks.com […]

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