Ottolenghi's Crushed Puy Lentils with Cumin...and a wine pairing

Today I'm sharing a recently discovered recipe which has become a total fave.   It's an amazing Crushed Lentil and Cumin dish from Yotam Ottolenghi's 'Plenty More'.  For those of your unfamiliar with Ottolenghi (have you been living in a cave somewhere??) 'Plenty More' is a book filled with delicious Middle Eastern inspired vegetarian recipes. I would like to add that I am not a vegetarian, but if someone cooked me food like this every day, I'd be tempted to convert! 

 



This was an easy to prepare dish (I doubled the quantities and have loads to get our family through the week, as well as a container for a sick friend). I'm planning to pair it with a light red wine tonight - the awesome Kalleske Clarry's GSM which you can buy here: http://bit.ly/24XbiUd. You could also choose one of our Pinots,  The new Huckleberry Hustle by Temple Bruer, a Tempranillo or a red blend like the Gemtree Phantom. Winner.

Crushed Puy Lentils with Cumin

Ingredients:
 
200g puy lentils
30g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil , plus extra to finish
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
3 medium tomatoes, skinned and cut into 1cm dice
25g coriander leaves, chopped
4 tbsp tahini paste
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
½ small red onion, peeled and sliced very thin (I pickled this in a mixture of red wine vinegar, water, salt and sugar...I found that it added a real zing to the dish...delicious!)
2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

This sustaining meal-on-a-plate is a little bit like hummus, though much easier and quicker to prepare. With warm flatbread, I could eat this every day. Serves two as a main, or four as a starter. 

Method

Bring a medium pan of water to a boil. Add the lentils and cook for 15-20 minutes, until completely cooked, drain and set aside.

Put the butter and oil in a large sauté pan and place on a medium-high heat. Once the butter melts, add the garlic and cumin, and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, 20g of coriander and the cooked lentils. Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes, then add the tahini, lemon juice, 70ml of water, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Turn down the heat to medium and cook gently, stirring, for a few minutes more, until hot and thickened. Roughly mash the lentils with a potato masher, so that some are broken up and you get a thick, porridge consistency.

Spread out the lentils on a flat platter, run a fork through to make a wavy pattern on top, and scatter on the sliced onion, the remaining coriander and a final drizzle of olive oil. Serve warm with the hard-boiled eggs alongside. (I served this with a slice of Spanish Tortilla...I will post the recipe for that next time...I was taught to make the perfect Tortilla by a Spanish friend and I think I've got it just about right!).

Enjoy with a light red from our selection. Scrumbo!