Salmon with Puy Lentils Recipe

A great Salmon with puy lentils recipe that's easy to cook, tastes great and healthy too. A simply delicious salmon recipe, great for the Summertime, a buffet lunch or a picnic.

I made this simple lunch dish today for some girlfriends of mine and just had to share it with you. I hope you like it.

Ingredients - Serves 4 (easy to increase quantities

• 4 x salmon fillets about 170g each, skinned
• 250g dried puy lentils, rinsed
• Double the amount of vegetable stock to lentils. A simple way is to put the lentils in a pan and cover with water until the water reaches around 3/4" above the lentils (like cooking rice)
• Extra Virgin olive oil
• about 10 semi dried tomatoes in olive oil
• 100g soft cheese such as philidelphia (you could buy the one with garlic and herbs or chives) or feta cheese (crumbled)
• chopped flat leaf parsley
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• lemon juice to taste
• balsamic vinegar, coarse sea salt and black pepper all to taste

Method

It's difficult to give exact measurements because it all depends on your individual taste, if you want to add more of anything just go ahead until it tastes how you want it.

Cook the lentils according to the packet, drain and pour over some olive oil, balsamic vinegar (try 2 tablespoons of vinegar to 4 tablespoons of olive oil) at a time until you get to the right balance). Add the tomatoes, chopped, along with some of the oil they came in.

Then add the seasoning. The lentils can take quite a lot of salt and pepper so don't be frightened. Mix and taste, this is key, keep tasting until you get it right. Add the lemon zest and about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Add some of the cheese, slightly mashed and serve at room temperature.

Whilst the lentils are cooking,poach the salmon Serve with a fresh green salad and a nice glass of chilled white wine.

Tips

You can also add crispy fried bacon bits (with the cooking fat), chopped sauted (not brown & crispy) onions or alternate the parsley with a little fresh thyme. Have a go experimenting with different ingredients yourself.

Try substituting the salmon in the puy lentil recipe with any other poached or grilled fish, grilled chicken or lamb.