KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Keeping it simple. This meal comes together in 30-40 minutes--lentils, pan-grilled salmon fillets and coleslaw.

Open a jar of lentils. Empty the contents into a bowl. Add your favorite vinaigrette dressing and some chopped fresh herbs. Serve alongside grilled salmon or roast chicken or lamb chops. Dinner, simplified.

My plan here is, not to complicate this menu, but to customize it a bit. Instead of a glug of bottled vinaigrette, I’m making my own by adding spices to the basic dressing. A special ingredient—Moroccan lemons preserved in brine—adds real pizazz to plain canned lentils.

The “dressed” lentils, served cold or room temperature, are not a salad, but a side dish. They can take the place of a vegetable or of a boring carb such as potatoes. For that matter, with the addition of cubes of queso fresco or feta and quail eggs, the lentils easily become a vegetarian main.

It doesn’t take much to turn basic foods from simple to, if not sublime, at least very tasty.  I found lots of inspiration for this kind of cooking in Radically Simple—Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease by Chef Rozanne Gold (Rodale; 2010). She’s got at least eight recipes using canned legumes, all of them embellished in unexpected ways. For example, grated fresh ginger “makes the flavor of fresh lemon reverberate” in an otherwise ordinary Italian white bean salad. A couscous salad gets finished with chickpeas, chopped dates, slivered almonds and cardamom. Just wow!

(Some other recipes I liked from Radically Simple, these not with legumes: creamy avocado soup spiked with fino Sherry; halibut roasted with saffron vinaigrette; beef burgers with sun-dried tomatoes; lamb chops with smoked pimentón oil and shards of Manchego cheese; cauliflower with crumbly ras el hanout topping.)

Keeping it simple.

Lentils with a spicy vinaigrette and diced preserved lemon makes an easy side dish with all kinds of foods.

Chilled or room temperature lentils accompany pan-grilled salmon. Slaw is a quick salad-relish.

Mint complements the lentils and salmon.

Or, serve the lentils on the side.

Tangy slaw can serve as a sauce or relish with the grilled salmon. This is made with shredded Chinese cabbage, red bell pepper and diced carrots. No mayonnaise--the dressing includes olive oil, Sherry vinegar, a dribble of honey and a pinch of toasted cumin seeds.

Lentils with Spicy Dressing

Lentejas Aliñadas

Use the rind of preserved lemon.

These are tiny brown pardina lentils. French Puy lentils could be used instead--whatever you have available in cans or jars.

Chopped preserved lemon adds pop to this simple side dish. If not available, substitute capers for a similar tangy, briny flavor.

You could simplify the recipe further by using a ready-mixed spice blend such as ras el hanout, Madras curry powder or za’atar instead of the clove-pepper-cumin-pimentón mix.

Fresh mint leaves.

Chopped mint complements the lentils nicely and points up the Moroccan-ish flavors. But chopped dill, cilantro, basil or parsley would be equally good.

Open a jar of lentils.

2 cups canned lentils
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup diced preserved lemon
1 tablespoon ketchup
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cloves
1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon hot pimentón (paprika) or pinch cayenne
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Fresh mint leaves, chopped
Hard-cooked quail eggs, to garnish (optional)

Empty the lentils into a colander. Rinse them in cold water and let them drain.

Place the chopped onion in a small bowl. Cover with cold water. Let the onions soak 10 minutes. Drain them well.

Combine the lentils and onion in a bowl. Add the diced lemon.

Spicy vinaigrette.

In a small bowl combine the ketchup, garlic, salt, cloves, pepper, cumin and pimentón. Whisk in the lemon juice and olive oil. Pour dressing over the lentils and very gently stir. Allow the lentils to marinate in the dressing at least 30 minutes or, covered and refrigerated, up to 24 hours.

Immediately before serving stir in the chopped mint. Garnish, if desired, with quail eggs that have been peeled and halved. Serve the lentils room temperature or chilled.

To cook the salmon: Season the fillets with salt and pepper and drizzle them with olive oil. Allow to come to room temperature. Heat a plancha (grill pan) or cast iron skillet until quite hot. Place the fillets in the pan, skin side down. Lower heat to medium-hot. Allow the salmon to cook without moving it until the skin is crisped and flesh is cooked almost to the center. Carefully turn the fillets and finish cooking just until the reverse side is lightly browned.

More recipes in which canned lentils could be used:
Don Quixote´s Friday Lentils (vegetarian).
Lentils with Sausage.