My parents are visiting from Australia at the moment, having flown into London on Wednesday evening. My Mum was in England not long after we moved (last August/September) but it's the first time I've seen my Dad in a year. It was lovely spending yesterday with them.
Given our one-bed flat situation, their two nights in London were based in a hotel in Greenwich, not too far from where we live. I took yesterday and today off work (joy!) and had a great time playing tourist in Greenwich yesterday. We went to the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House, and painted hall and chapel in the Old Royal Naval College site. We also walked through the Greenwich foot tunnel to look back at Greenwich from the north bank of the Thames.
 |
| Greenwich from across the Thames |
After a day out and about, we had a relaxed dinner at our flat in the evening. Most of the dishes I prepared I'd made before, or were simple enough to not even be dishes as such (such as par boiled Jersey potatoes, hummus and crudites, and smoked salmon for those who eat it). However, this lentil salad was a new option and it allowed me to test out my lastest supermarket discovery / impulse buy: preserved lemon paste.
Tesco seems to have a whole new range of 'inspired by Morocco' food items and this lemon paste is one of them. I thought it would be a nice way to jazz up lentils, and it did just that without being overpowering. Paprika balanced out the lemon, and fresh, sweet tomatoes and pepper rounded out the dish.
My parents have now headed south to Rye, where my grandparents live, but we will be seeing them on and off over the next few weeks. I suspect I'll be seeing this salad on and off in the future too!
Lemon and paprika lentil salad
A delicious salad that goes well with most things, but is also enjoyable on its own
Serves 4 as a side / part of a meal
Vegan and low in fat
Author: Bite-sized thoughts
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups puy or green lentils, cooked in vegetable stock (if using canned lentils, season lightly with salt and dried herbs of choice, e.g., oregano or thyme)
1/2 cup giant cous cous, cooked to pack instructions, or other grain of choice
1-1/2 tbsp dried paprika
1-1/2 tbsp preserved lemon paste
1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Method
Combine the cooked lentils and giant cous cous in a bowl. Stir through the paprika and lemon paste. Stir through the chopped pepper and half of the tomatoes. Serve with the other tomatoes sprinkled on top.
Enjoy hot or cold.
Have you used lemon paste?
We were sorry we didn't have time to visit Greenwich when we were in London. I'd like to try your recipe the next time I cook some lentils. Sounds good!
ReplyDeleteGreenwich will be there for your next trip :-) And thank you!
DeleteHow fun to have your parents visit! The lentil dish with the Moroccan inspo sounds quite good.
ReplyDeleteIt is great having them here!
DeleteHow lovely to have your parents visit. And the lentil salad sounds interesting - I have had preserved lemons but didn't use them much - so I would be interested in this paste but wonder how much I would use it. Probably would need to make an effort to get in the habit but it sounds like an easy way to give a unique flavour.
ReplyDeleteI was wary of buying it and having it sit in the fridge, but fortunately the jars are quite small, so I'm hopeful of being adventurous enough to get through this pot at least!
DeleteHow lovely to have your parents visit and haven't they come at a beautiful time of year. Wonderful you were able to take a little time off work to play tour guide. I have had preserved lemons but never the paste and didn't know it existed. I'll have to look out for it xx
ReplyDeleteI hope you can find some - it is a handy thing to have about! And yes, it was wonderful being able to take the time out of work to enjoy my parents around :-)
Delete