Bounty

This Italian salad comes from Umbria, a region well-known for its hearty and flavoursome country cooking.

Lentils are packed with iron, a brilliant substitute for meat, while the Balsamic vinegar gives a lovely, mellowing sweetness making the pulses more appealing to kids.

Traditionally this would be served with sausages, but it goes equally well with a filet of fish like haddock, hake or salmon (pan fry it so the skin goes crispy, flip and cook for another few minutes until the flesh is flaky, then serve skin-side down on top of the lentils).

Fun fact

As legend has it, the ancient Egyptians thought that feeding lentils to their children would make them more cheerful and studious. Surely worth a try…

Prep & cooking time

• Prep time: 5 mins
• Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 200 g brown, green or Puy lentils
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium sized tomatoes, diced
• 500 ml water, or 400 ml water plus 100 ml red wine
• 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
• 1 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 10 basil leaves, rolled into a neat bunch and sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until golden.
2. Add the lentils, salt and stir until well covered with the oil.
3. Add half the tomatoes and stir for another minute.
4. Pour on the water, or the water and wine, bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.