In October, to mark the grape harvest season, our recipe of the month is 'Grape-Picker's Stew' - wholesome enough to keep the grape-pickers' energy levels up through the harvest! 

Ingredients

  • 8 slices of streaky smoked bacon
  • 8 large sausages (we recommend Toulouse, beef or venison)
  • 4 onions cut up into large chunks
  • 200g of dry green lentils (Puy)
  • 2-4 garlic cloves
  • 300 ml of beef stock
  • 150 ml of red wine
  • Fresh thyme

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and fry the bacon until it's crispy over a medium heat.
  • Remove the bacon, then add the sausages, browning them all over. 
  • Then remove the sausages and add the onion chunks. Turn up the heat so that the onions soften and caramelize.
  • Add the sausages back to the dish, adding the thyme, garlic and lentils. Then cook for about a minute, while continuously stirring.
  • Add the stock and the wine. Decrease the heat so that it's simmering slowly and cover the dish partially with the lid.
  • Let it simmer for about 35 minutes, so that the lentils are soft and the sausages are cooked all the way through.
  • Season it with salt and pepper, and add in the crispy bacon before serving with some fresh thyme.
  • Put the pot in the middle of the table so that people may help themselves. This is nice served with salad, crispy baguette and cheese.

 

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Kate
Dealing with Emilie is like having a personal concierge. The 10 day trip was perfect. She allowed time to relax and we were able to experience France like locals. This is our 8 th trip to France but after this tour, it will not be our last. Thank you Emilie!
Chuck
Emilie was a great help in planning our trip and the accommodations and recommendations were excellent and well thought out. Unless you speak French and know the countryside, this is the best company for you to use to have a superb vacation and I would use them again anytime. They give you options so you can do what you like, but help with the …
Earl
It's hard to know where to begin. We stumbled across France Just For You by accident when researching ideas for our three week visit to France. We made contact with Emily by email and began a conversation over the coming weeks as she planned a self-guided holiday for us, designed to fulfil our dream of staying in French b'n'bs in wine-growing …
Kathy
My wife and I were planning a special trip to Provence and although we didn't want a canned tour, we did want support to ensure we didn't miss out on experiences we simply weren't aware of. In our search we got lucky and found Emilie. She interviewed us in advance so she could customize the trip to our desires and interests and ultimately created …
Tyndall from the US
Truly an amazing experience traveling with France Just for You. Their attention to detail, availability, communication, and knowledge of France is unmatched. Went on the girls trip of a lifetime thanks to them! Made incredible memories and loved the balance of having curated activities planned and suggested activities for the time in between. Truly …
Leslie & Family
Just returned from an amazing trip with our family, including 3 teenage boys. Emilie carefully listened to our request to focus on military history and arranged an itinerary with just the right balance of history, culture, art, and military history. We had incredible guides to Paris, WWI, and WWII sites plus unique B&Bs. So many memories!