What to eat after a final.

A final for a class called "Plagues", no less.

It's no secret that I'm crazy for legumes. At the moment, my kitchen contains four types of canned beans, two types of dried beans, dried split peas and five types of lentils. Five types of lentils! I never claimed to be sane. But of all the uses for all the legumes, this might be my favorite.

The French green lentils are key here. I made this once with black beluga lentils, which are gorgeous and worth trying, but this dish is worlds better if you use the real thing. The quality of the sausages is key too. I use hot dogs, but not just any hot dogs. They come from my absolute favorite place in the whole city of Chicago--Gene's Sausage Shop. Seriously, this place is over an hour away and if it weren't for school I would go every other day. Actually, if I didn't go to school in Hyde Park I would move to Lincoln Square just to be closer to Gene's. They make their own meat everything, and stock awesome (and amazingly priced!) Eastern European beer, liquor, and groceries. Actually, my lentils came from here too. Anyway, if you're lacking a place like Gene's, use some kielbasa or other high quality smoked sausage.

We ate this with roasted brussels sprouts (probably the last of the season!), but it makes a pretty good meal on its own, and is also good cold. I've tweaked the original recipe quite a bit, adding more sausage, decreasing the lentils by a third (the first time I made it, we never got through the leftovers) and upping the mustard in the dressing.

Warm French Lentil Salad with Smoked Sausage (adapted from Use Real Butter)

serves 4

-1 cup French green (de Puy) lentils

-1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces

-3 sprigs fresh thyme

-2 smashed garlic cloves

-2 bay leaves

-black peppercorns

-1 small onion, peeled and halved

-1 small carrot, halved

-1 and 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

-1 tablespoon dijon mustard

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1 tablespoon walnut oil (or replace with more olive oil, if you don't have walnut oil around)

-1/4 cup chopped parsley

-2 scallions, chopped

-salt and pepper

1. Put the thyme, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaves into a cheesecloth pouch or spice bag. Place in a saucepan with the lentils, onion, and carrot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, and simmer 30-40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a cast iron skillet, and make the dressing. Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and oils. Add salt and pepper and more of oil or vinegar, to taste.

3. When the lentils are tender, drain and discard the spice pouch, onion, and carrot.

4. Mix together the lentils, sausage, parsley, scallion, and dressing. Serve!