Fish with Spicy Green Lentils
Dark green Puy lentils, grown in the south of France, have a unique, peppery flavour that is enhanced by spicy chili. The green lentils do not disintegrate during cooking and their texture is a perfect complement to the flakiness of fresh fish.
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, chopped
1–2 large mild red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
170 g Puy-style (dark green) lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups reduced-salt vegetable stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
juice of 1 lemon
1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pieces of skinless white fish fillet or 4 fish steaks, about 150 g each
pepper to taste
lemon wedges to serve
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion, celery, leeks and chilies, and cook gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the lentils. Add the vegetable stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. If at the end of this time the lentils have not absorbed all the stock, drain them (you can use the excess stock to make a soup).
- Ten minutes before the lentils are ready, preheat the broiler. Mix together the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Place the fish in the broiler pan, skin-side up, season with pepper and brush with the oil mixture. Broil until the fish flakes easily. There is no need to turn the fish over.
- Spread the spicy green lentils in a warmed serving dish and arrange the pieces of fish on top. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges.
cooking time 30 mins
serves 4
PER SERVING
372 calories
44 g protein
14 g total fat
3 g saturated fat
115 mg cholesterol
16 g total carbohydrate
7 g sugars
5 g fibre
970 mg sodium
Lentils, which are small seeds from a variety of leguminous plants, are classified as pulses, but unlike other pulses they do not need to be soaked before cooking. Lentils are a good source of protein, starch, dietary fibre and B vitamins. Iron absorption from lentils is poor, but vitamin C-rich foods, such as the lemon juice in this recipe, can improve this process considerably.
