Quick lentil dish has slow-cooked flavor

This lentil-chicken sausage combination is a comforting, savory dish of the kind that suggests slow cooking but, happily, demands only 30 minutes of the cook’s time. Don’t be surprised that the smart recipe comes from a chef designated a “fast expert.”

The chef is Annie Wayte, who supervises fashion designer Nicole Farhi’s restaurants in London and New York City. A feature focusing on some of her quick and tasty recipes in the January issue of Food & Wine magazine includes this one, described as “a healthy rendition of the classic British bangers and mash.”

Serve this dish with a nice merlot.

Lentils with Chicken Sausage

1 cup French green lentils (7 ounces)

4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth

1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small onion, quartered, plus 1 large onion, cut through the root end into 8 wedges

1 garlic clove

2 tablespoons canola oil

4 thyme sprigs

1 cup baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 precooked chicken sausages ( 3/4 pound)

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a medium heavy soup pot, combine the lentils with the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil.

In a food processor, pulse the carrot, celery, quartered onion and the garlic until finely chopped. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the vegetables and the thyme and cook over moderately high heat until softened, 3 minutes; scrape into the lentils, cover and cook over moderate heat until the lentils are tender, 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach; season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the onion wedges and sausages and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the onions are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 minute.

Thickly slice the sausages. Stir the sausages, onions and any accumulated juices into the lentils; discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon the lentils and sausages into bowls and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 494 calories, 24 grams fat (4.8 grams saturated, 44 percent fat calories), 39 grams carbohydrate, 9 grams dietary fiber.