France-Inspired Food for Springtime

I'm feeling another round of cooking coming on.

There are a few meals I ate in France at restaurants and people's houses that have been impossible to find here in the US so lately I've been trying to make them here, or at least food inspired by them.

#1 French Meal--Sausages with Lentils
This is the most simple, and a standard restaurant dish, but somehow I haven't quite gotten it yet. I don't remember all the elements of this dish except that the lentils were saucy and had lardons in them (thick chopped bacon).
This is a really quick-to-make meal. Trader Joe's is carrying pre-cooked and seasoned lentils that are amazing, firm and tasty. So, all you have to do is grill the sausages and serve with the lentils, which can be Frenchly yummified if you chop up a slice or two of bacon, cook that in the pan, and add the lentils to heat without draining off the bacon fat.
It's basically fancy French franks-n-beans.

#2 French version of Moroccan Dish--Lamb and Vegetable Stew with Couscous
This one's complicated. You know how Chinese food and Indian food in America are really Americanized versions of those cuisines (more cream, more fried)? I have a theory that Moroccan food in France (which was ubiquitous) is really a Frenchified version, because I haven't seen this dish anywhere (actually, there aren't that many Moroccan restaurants to begin with). I watched a Moroccan-born French woman prepare part of this and all I really took away was that she used a huge pot to cook the stew that had a steamer in the top for the couscous. And there was a lot of butter in the couscous. I remember that.

Personally, I hate couscous salad. I think it's gross. It's cold, greasy, and way too herby. But warm buttery couscous as a side dish for an earthy meat like lamb is amazing, especially if the meat is juicy and it can soak up some of that.

I have no idea how to make the stew, so I made lamb patties instead with a recipe taken from Food and Wine.
Chopped jalapeno, mint, and green onion mix up the burger. I didn't make the yogurt sauce (I'm simple, I served plain yogurt on the side) but if I was doing it again, I would. Don't overcook the lamb, it should really be pink.

#3 French side dish--Mache salad
The simplest of simple. Mache is an heirloom lettuce that I am SO glad to find in California. I'd never seen it before when I went to France and it was everywhere. I couldn't figure out what it was. They are tiny little leaves with the roots usually still partly on (more like tiny plants). It has a very delicate nutty flavor and all you have to do is drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle a little sea salt on top, then serve. If you want to California-fy it, add a couple slices of avocado.
Yum.