1 cup dry lentils
4 chicken breasts, halved and sliced into 2" pieces
8 slices bacon, sliced in half
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
water

1. Place lentils in a large pot with carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaves.
2. Add just enough water to cover the pot contents, cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and wrap with pieces of bacon, securing with toothpicks if necessary. Sprinkle wrapped chicken with fennel seed and press into flesh.
4. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the chicken, frying both sides until browned and bacon is crisp.
5. Add the wine to the pan and lower heat to a simmer. Cook covered until chicken is cooked through to the center, about 10 minutes.
6. Combine the lentils and vegetables to the chicken and allow to simmer uncovered until excess liquid evaporates.
7. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Makes 4 large servings

I've been scouting out 1 pot dinners lately, for the sake of convenience and because combined flavors often taste better than a bunch of separate ones. I found one for Fennel Chicken and Lentils that, at the time, looked quite different and interesting, so I went with it. While actually preparing the dish it didn't seem that different from anything I've done before though. I'm still trying to use up the pantry contents; all the dried beans, rice and pasta and so on, so a recipe using lentils was still a good idea.

Having learned my lesson when I tried to make Dhal, I did not add salt while cooking the lentils and made sure to use filtered water instead of my hard tap water. They were done in about 3/4 of an hour! I was actually thinking about all the little tricks and lessons I've learned while doing this project and I'm having trouble keeping track at this point and I'm not even half done. That's good news.

Anyhow, regardless of how crispy I could get the bacon, it still softened up when I mixed in the lentils. There seemed like there'd be too many flavors going on here. The smoky flavor from the bacon mixed with fennel and wine, plus all the aromatic vegetables. Nothing really seemed too overpowering even though all the flavors were present, though. I liked this dish in a curious sort of way, and even refilled my plate. I'm not sure if I'd call it enjoyment, but it was definitely satisfying and hearty. Sometimes, that's all that really matters to me, I guess.