Lentil and Red Onion salad

My post today is simply a description of a salad I made a few days ago. It is inspired by the work of my current Food Hero, Yotam Ottolenghi. It is very similar to a recipe I found in his book "Plenty", with one or two adjustments.

OK, doesn't than look YUMMY? (You couldn't possibly say No!)

You'll want to know what's in this salad, I'm sure.

Ingredients: Puy Lentils, Red Onions, semi-dried Tomatoes, Parsley and Blue Cheese. There is also a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar - the latter an improvisation by me aimed at loosening-up the texture a bit.The original recipe calls for Gorgonzola cheese, which would be perfect, but unfortunately on the day I wanted to make this salad I couldn't get any Gorgonzola and I had to content myself with a "value" (aka economy) product simply called "Blue Cheese". It was a little too firm for my liking - Ottolenghi's choice of the softer Gorgonzola was spot-on.

This salad could easily be put together using pre-prepared ingredients, but since I had plenty of time I made some of the elements from first principles. I cooked the tomatoes on a very low heat for about 2 hours, until they were soft and gooey, not crisp. Likewise, although I could have used tinned lentils, I didn't. I cooked mine myself. This way you can have exactly the quantity you want, without feeling obliged to use a whole tin or sachet. The Puy lentils can be cooked in about 35 or 40 minutes, without the need for pre-soaking.

The onions are basically raw, though they are "marinated" in salt for about half an hour, which softens them a little, as does the addition of the red wine vinegar I mentioned earlier. What can I say about the Parsley? Parsley might be seen by some as unexciting, but I truly think it is a wonderfully versatile herb. This salad would certainly be incomplete without it. It contributes subtle flavour, but texture and vibrant colour too.

This salad has enormous visual appeal, and my assembly of it recognises that. I have done my best to be faithful to the original salad pictured in Ottolenghi's book. [For those of you who have the book - see page 222.]

We ate this salad as a Starter, part of a fairly comprehensive all-vegetarian meal, and it was wonderful. Almost good enough to be a meal on its own - possibly with the addition of a large chunk of crusty bread.



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P.S. I'm putting this forward for the Credit Crunch Munch, hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All