Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Main navigation

Lentil & Walnut Salad with Feta Roasted Salmon (Nigella)

The theme for Forever Nigella #5 has been announced by Dom at Belleau Kitchen and it is to be “Salad Days.” As we roll into some warmer weather I am told food becomes less “heavy and stodgy.” Personally, I would just carry on eating the stodge as I’m not much of a salad girl myself, but I have to say, I am always inspired by Nigella’s salads. I think its probably because Nigella does a great job of padding things out and making her meals substantial, even though they may be ‘light.’

I was after something really quick and easy to make for supper so I turned to ‘Nigella Express,’ which has lots of ideas for speedy meals. I did have two salmon fillets to use, so I baked them in the oven, drizzled with olive oil, dotted with a teeny amount of butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and scattered with some feta and lemon zest and a bit of parsley. I confess to not having much else around, so my attention was drawn to the very back of the book to a section entitled “Storecupboard SOS.” I found a lovely sounding ‘Lentil and Walnut Salad’ and though I had most of the ingredients to hand, namely a packet of lentils, some walnuts and walnut oil, I did have to substitute chives for a bit of rocket and sherry vinegar for white balsamic vinegar. You can leave the walnuts chunkier or chop them finer for more texture and I doubled the vinegar and oil quantities as I wanted the dressing to soak into the lentils as well as coat the rocket leaves.
The whole thing worked very well and since I was unusually cooking for one, there was even enough for left for a lunch box for today. Nigella suggests serving this salad with her Golden Goat’s Cheese, which I will definitely try next time. Grilled Halloumi would be great too for a vegetarian alternative, but the salmon topped with feta went so well with the crunchy walnuts and sweet but sharp white balsamic. This would also make a great supper for friends.

So, that’s me converted to salad then. Can’t wait to see the round up for some more lovely ideas.

Nigella’s Lentil & Walnut Salad
with Feta Roasted Salmon
(Lentil & Walnut Salad adapted from Nigella Express)

Ingredients
For the salmon –
2 fillets of salmon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
30g cubed or crumbled Feta cheese
A teaspoon of greated lemon zest
A sprinkle of herbs – parsley or mint

For the Lentil & Walnut Salad
400g can organic Puy lentils (ready cooked)
A handful of rocket leaves
50g walnut pieces (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons walnut oil
4 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Place salmon on a baking try on a piece of lightly oiled baking paper
2. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over the cumbled Feta cheese and the lemon zest. Bake in the oven for fifteen minutes or until cooked through
3. Drain and rinse the lentils and put them in a bowl with the finely chopped walnuts and rocket salad leaves
4. Whisk together the walnut oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and stir together well
5. Once the salmon is cooked, pile on a plate and eat!
Serves 2 or 1 plus lunch the next day

About Ren

Ren Behan is a British-born food writer of Polish descent. She is a mum to three young children (13, 10 and 5) and spends lots of time with them in the kitchen. Ren writes about seasonal, family-friendly food on her blog www.renbehan.com. She also contributes recipes and articles to online and print food publications, such as Food52.com, GreatBritishChefs.com, Huff Post Food and JamieOliver.com. She holds a Diploma in Food Journalism with Distinction and has completed a Food Styling course at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

Ren’s cookbook, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, draws upon her Polish heritage and regular travels to Poland.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. >How come you managed to make something healthy look sooooo enticing? Sigh. That looks brilliant.

    Reply

  3. >Great idea to double the dressing – I like my salads to have an intense taste. Lovely pics too.

    Reply

  4. >Thank you Dom, it was delicious! I enjoyed it very much, can't wait for the round-up.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *