Ginger & Chilli Lentils, with Pan Fried Salmon and a Yoghurt Dressing

This lentil recipe came from a chef friend who used to work at The Tate, he said it's one of those recipes you'll go back to time and time again. However, there's good news and bad news.... The good news is that it tastes amazing, I'm a huge fan of Lentils and you will not be disappointed. The bad news is that once you've tried this recipe, any other lentil recipe will only ever disappoint. The pan roasted salmon was a lovely partner and I also included a simple cucumber and yoghurt dressing and some roasted cherry tomatoes.

Amazing food gives me such pleasure, particularly when you come across new flavour combinations like this, I get so excited and become a bit like a school boy who's just scored their first ever goal. I guess that's why I love this job.

Don't be alarmed by the number of ingredients in this recipe, most of them are simple store cupboard items. Try to chop the onion, chilli, garlic and ginger as finely as you possibly can, that way the flavours distribute more evenly. The lentil dish is great served warm, but it's also really lovely served cold as a salad.

Serves 4
For the Lentils
250g Pardina Lentils
1 x Red Onion, finely chopped
2 x Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
A large piece of Fresh Ginger, about 50g, peeled and finely diced
1 x Large Red Chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1tsp Ground Cumin
½tsp Cumin Seeds
50ml Chinese Black Rice Vinegar
50ml Light Soy Sauce
50ml Water
1tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
2tbsp Tomato Ketchup
½ Small Bunch of Fresh Coriander, chopped
50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

For the Cucumber Yoghurt Sauce
4tbsps Greek Yoghurt
1tbsp Water
½ Cucumber, deseeded and finely diced
½ Small Bunch of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
Salt

For the Salmon
4 Fillets of Fresh Salmon
Salt
2tbsps Fussel's Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

1. Wash the lentils under cold running water add 2½ times their volume of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes. You want a little nutty bite left in the lentils, so start checking them after about 18 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, chop up the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli and place in a saucepan. Add in the ground cumin and cumin seeds along with the black rice vinegar and water. Gently heat for 4 or 5 minutes to get all the flavours working, turn off the heat and leave to one side.

3. For the cucumber yoghurt sauce, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to one side.

4. Season the fish with salt and pan fry - skin side down - for 80% of it's cooking time. You can see the fillets changing colour up the side as they cook. Once you can see the fish has cooked about two thirds of the way up the side, turn off the heat, flip the fish over and let it finish cooking in the residual heat of the pan. 

5. Once the lentils have cooked, drain off any excess water and mix through the ginger, chilli and onions. Stir in the soy sauce, ketchup, sweet chilli sauce, fresh coriander and slowly add in the olive oil.

5. To plate up, pile a few spoonfuls of the lentils into the centre of the plate, place the salmon on top and spoon over some yoghurt sauce. You'll see in the picture that I also served a few roasted cherry tomatoes as well, if you're up for including these, simply roasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes with a little oil and salt.

Enjoy! And foodies, don't forget to tag us on Facebook or Instagram if you make this at home. 

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