Recipe: Lentil, mozzarella & tomato salad

Another salad produced as a result of staring into the fridge, wondering what on earth to make for lunch. The work of minutes, thanks to (shhh) a can of lentils I found in the back of the larder, it’s a satisfying mix of textures and tastes.

I’ve always cooked lentils from scratch — it’s hardly rocket science to pour a cup of green, brown or Puy lentils into a pan of boiling water and cook for 30–40  minutes till soft, and it has never, ever occurred to me, unlike with chickpeas which need overnight soaking, to look for them in the canned goods aisle. But: here I was with a can in my hand. So were they any worse than the ones I cook from scratch? Well, they’re a bit softer maybe, but the only thing that offends me is the cost — you get maybe a cup of canned lentils for a pound — as opposed to maybe 5 or 6 times that from dried.

So: the salad.
Ingredients for one person as a main course or for two as a side salad (lovely with Roast chicken, I hear):

a cup of cooked, cooled lentils
a handful of cherry or baby plum tomatoes halved/quartered to taste
Half a small buffalo mozzarella torn into pieces
(you cld use goat’s cheese or even Brie or Camembert instead. It needs to be a cheese with a soft consistency. Normal mozzarella is too rubbery.)
1 Little Gem lettuce chopped (Romaine would work too)
handful of watercress
Maldon salt & black pepper to taste

Dressing: I mix a teaspoon of Dijon mustard with a large glug of olive oil & a splash of either lemon juice or syrupy balsamic, along with liberal amounts of salt & pepper.

Eat with lots of good bread in the sunshine.

Another salad idea here: Halloumi, avocado & chickpea