Yum!

Staring at the cupboards, nothing obvious to eat staring back at me…but then, there’s that unopened bag of lentils I’ve never known what to do with…aha!

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion – sliced
• 1 garlic clove
• 100g (ish) red lentils
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• small handful pine nuts
• 200ml (ish) water
• 1 star anise
• garam masala
• turmeric
• coriander
• chilli flakes
• dash of worcestershire sauce

Method:

Heat some oil – I use groundnut – in a pan. Then add about a teaspoon of turmeric and one or two teaspoons garam masala. Cook for a minute or so until your kitchen starts smelling lovely.

Throw in the sliced onion, give a good stir so it gets covered in the spices, add the pine nuts, then cook til the onion’s soft – about five minutes.

Stir in the garlic, coriander, chilli, star anise, and lentils.

Add the chopped tomatoes and water, season with salt, pepper and the dash of worcestershire sauce, bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with chapatis, eat, yum!!

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets
• Soy sauce
• Ginger, chilli and garlic sauce
• 2 star anise
• Chinese five spice
• Crushed chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp groundnut oil
• 6 fl oz rice
• turmeric

Method:

Tear off two large pieces of foil and stick the salmon fillets in the middle of each.

Pour over a good lashing of ginger/chilli/garlic sauce, likewise with soy sauce. Sprinkle with chinese five spice and chilli flakes. Put a star anise next to each fillet.

Now fold up the foils into parcels, making sure none of the sauce can escape, and tightly crease it together so none of the heat can escape.

Place the parcels onto a baking tray and stick in the oven for 25 minutes at 190 degrees C.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan on the highest heat.
Add a teaspoon of turmeric and a pinch of chinese five spice.
Then add the rice and give it a good coating in the mixture.

Boil 14 fl oz water and pour over the rice, then bring down to the lowest heat, stir, cover, and cook for 15 minutes without taking off the lid.

When it’s ready, serve the rice, stick the salmon on top and pour the sauce over from the foil parcels. Eat. Yum.