DavidContinuing with our Advice & Information summer recipes theme, David has shared his recipe for puy lentil and red pepper salad with red onion, mint and feta…

“I really love this dish, as it’s perfect for mild summer evenings and is full of flavour. I came across it when some friends and I were doing our own version of ‘Come Dine With Me’ and it was my turn to create a meal. I knew I wanted to make something with lentils but I wasn’t sure what, so I had a look online and found some inspiration in various recipes and took the things I liked most from each one. It’s great on its own or you could have it with pan-fried chicken or lamb steaks.”

Serves 2

Salad ingredients

  • 200g puy lentils, rinsed
  • 2 large garlic cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Vegetable stock cube
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red onion, chopped finely
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces
  • Handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • Handful of feta, cubed or crumbled
  • A few sprigs of mint
  • 4 large basil leaves

Lentil saladDressing ingredients:

½ tbsp red wine vinegar
A squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin if possible)
juice
Pepper to taste

Method:

Place the lentils in a pan with enough water to cover by several inches, then add bay leaves, whole garlic cloves and crumble in the vegetable stock cube. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer gently for 20-25 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still retain their shape. Drain well, removing the bay leaves and the garlic cloves, and leave to one side to cool.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped onions and pepper, stirring until softened. Leave to cool and mix in with the lentils, then add the tomatoes. Tear the basil and mint into small pieces and add, softly stirring the mix together. Mix the dressing ingredients together and add to the dish, mixing thoroughly. Add the feta cubes or crumble the feta on top and add pepper to taste. Enjoy!

A little tip..

As fresh herbs are more expensive than their dried equivalents and wilt quickly in the fridge, try chopping the mint and basil up, adding it to an ice-cube tray and freezing it, meaning it can be used in other dishes later. This helps avoid wastage and save money. Here’s a link explaining this: http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/herbs/how-to-store-herbs-in-ice-cubes/151.html

Thanks David! Look out for more cost-effective summer dishes over the next few weeks, and check out last week’s recipe for Summer Chilli here.