The woman can do no wrong..

Who could possibly make me want to eat lentils, (except Nigel, of course), other than Gwyneth Paltrow. Ordinarily the woman's ability to accomplish anything she tries would make me sick with envy, but there are so many things to like about her. She has a Welsh name, she's married to a Brit, her hair looks really dry on the cover of her book....(maybe she's normal after all).... but seriously, the truth is her two cookbooks are really good. Possibly the recipes are not all entirely hers, but she certainly knows her way around a kitchen and as far as celebrity forays into other areas go, she succeeds. But please Gwyneth, don't let them pressure you into endorsing a fragrance entitled 'New York English Rose'.

My own Canadian rose has been enjoying the sunshine lately with her daddy, home from work for lunch, the first of which we ate on the roof deck, enjoying barbecued sausages and this gorgeous lentil salad from 'It's all good'. Lentils were always synonymous with hippie food when I was younger, the culinary equivalent of rolling your own. It's true they're not popular in the UK like they are in France or India, say and I can't think of a single well known British recipe that uses them, but, they do seem to be having something of a resurgence as the wholegrain and less meat concept sweeps through. This salad recipe dresses them with a creamy combination of mustard, oil and lemon with onion, tomatoes and herbs to provide freshness and crunch.

Recipe : Lentil salad with creamy mustard dressing
From 'It's all Good' by Gwyneth Paltrow

1 cup lentils (Gwyneth specified du Puy, I used regular tinned brown)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp coarse grain mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs, (I used fennel and basil)

Whisk together the mustards, lemon, vinegar, olive oil and a large pinch of salt until well mixed and creamy.

Place the lentils, tomatoes and onion in a bowl and pour over the dressing, mixing well again. Sprinkle with the herbs. That's it.

(Of course if you are using raw lentils you will need to cook them first, maybe even having to soak them overnight. Check the cooking instructions on the packet or find the information on the Internet).

You may also like:

Quinoa with toms and pots

Indian spiced lentils with arugula

Tarka dhal