Puy lentils with sour cherries, bacon, and Gorgonzola

This could be served as a main dish, but I think it works better as a starter. The flavours on this one are quite unique. I used jarred sour cherries as I had some leftover. I estimated it was about 150g of sour cherries and omitted the extra water and sugar.

One year ago: Sweet and Sour Red Peppers
Two years ago: Tomato Galette

Puy lentils with sour cherries, bacon, and Gorgonzola (from Ottolenghi)

Ingredients
125g Puy lentils
2 bay leaves
2 - 3 shallots, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
1 tsp caster sugar
60g dried sour cherries
70ml red wine vinegar
8 bacon slices
80g baby spinach
120g creamy Gorgonzola cheese

1. Wash lentils under cold water and drain. Transfer to saucepan and add enough water to cover by 3x their height. Add bay leaves, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are al dente.
2. Meanwhile, place shallots in pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and saute over medium heat for 10 minutes or until golden.
3. Add water, sugar, cherries, and vinegar to shallots and simmer over low heat for 8 - 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Season to taste.
4. Drain lentils and add to sauce. Set aside to cool.
5. Fry bacon until crispy (he suggests doing this in remaining olive oil). Transfer to plate and let cool. Tear into large pieces.
6. Add bacon to lentils. Add spinach and stir.
7. Transfer to serving plates and dot with Gorgonzola.