Spiced puy lentil salad

September 29, 2011

Lentils can be a hard sell, but these even managed to get a compliment from a lentil AND yogurt hater. Lentils are mixed with lemon, toasted cumin and coriander, golden onions, garlic, yogurt and if you want extra deliciousness, goat’s feta or chevre. Ottolenghi, we love you. Both of us. This is a very adapted version of his puy lentil galettes (Plenty, p.208), morphed into a salad. I tossed with grated carrots for crunch, let the flavours play together, then layered with green leafy bits (I used miner’s lettuce from the garden, but baby spinach is Ottolenghi’s first choice).

I ran out of lemons so used some bottled (gulp) lime juice and lemon balm. I wouldn’t really say this is a good route to go, just by the way. It was still tasty, but definitely missing the sour kick needed and loved in the first version. Likewise, the yogurt should ideally be thick and sour – this is one of the few times I’d reach for Cyclops yogurt over Clearwater! The lemon isn’t actively sour it just helps balance the earthy flavours in this, so don’t skimp!

So how would I describe this? A little gritty from the combo of carrots and lentils, sweet from the onions and spices, rich and kind of silky/creamy at the same time without being gluggy or that kind of stick-to-your ribs wintery. Doesn’t sound great, but it was wonderful – once you mix the lentils, lemon, spices, and onion, you will undoubtedly swoon. To be honest if I wasn’t feeling more virtuous I’d have just eaten that – no goat’s cheese needed even. Do what suits you and what you have on hand though. This could easily be vegan even – you may want to use sorrel as the leaves though or add some more lemon juice (you’ll have a slightly soupier mix though). One thing I’d recommend though is to cook the spices as specified in the recipe – I tried shortcutting and it didn’t taste the same at all!

Lentil salad

serves two. ingredient amounts are fairly flexible

large handful of cooked puy lentils* (I got mine from Med Foods, they’re local! How cool is that?!), drained
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
enough fresh lemon or lime juice (plus zest) to wet the lentils so they are a bit sloppy
a large spoonful of thick, sour greek yogurt
extra virgin olive oil, cooking oil and salt
1 carrot, grated
optional: about 75g goat’s feta or chevre, crumbled
optional: lemon balm, finely chopped, or coriander and mint (Ottolenghi included these, but I don’t like or have either) – leave sine whole for garnish if you want
salad leaves (pref baby spinach)

*cover lentils in 3-4 times the amount of water with a bay leaf if you have one, cover and turn heat to low. Let sit for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are soft but still keep their shape. Add more water so they are immersed and sea salt.

Toss lentils with lemon juice, some olive oil, and the carrots. Set aside for the lentils and carrots to really drink in the flavour.

In a frypan, heat the cumin and coriander seeds on medium low heat until fragrant (this actually does happen – the smell is mesmerising). Remove from heat sharpish and pound in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of rock salt. In the same frypan, heat a Tablespoon of cooking oil, and cook onions until softened. Add spices and garlic, cook another two minutes, until garlic is getting golden. Toss through the lentils. Mix in the yogurt and a third of the goat’s stuff if using. Taste, season further if required with salt. Remember to keep it unsalty if you’re using feta!

To assemble, layer the rest of the goat’s cheese with your greens. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (lick a drop and if you like it as is, you’ll like it in the salad!). Serve alongside some crusty bread if you like!