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4 tablespoons sultanas or 4 dried figs, sliced
harissa sauce (available from Middle Eastern shops and
specialist shops)
480g/1lb couscous, cooked (see here (#u46f2a0d5-ffa6-4be2-b2f8-c49746e5e48d))
Put the chickens in one saucepan and the lamb in your largest pan. Throw half the parsley and half the onion into each pan. Grind about half a teaspoon of black pepper into each, then cover with the water or stock. Bring to the boil, skimming away any foam that rises to the surface. Turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, then put half the butter and ground coriander into each pan. Let the chicken simmer for another 20 minutes, then turn off the heat. Continue to cook the lamb for 1
/
hours; it should become very tender.
Put all the vegetables in a steamer, or simply put them on top of the lamb, and cook, covered, for 10–12 minutes, until they are just tender. Bring the chicken back to the boil (if there is no room for all the vegetables in the lamb pan, you could put the rest in with the chicken and cook as for the lamb).
To serve, put the herbs, almonds and sultanas or figs into separate bowls. Lift out the meat and arrange it on a large dish with the vegetables all around. Pour all the stock into a pan, then taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Bring back to the boil. Spoon the heated couscous on to each serving plate, followed by the meat and vegetables, then some of the herbs, nuts and sultanas or figs. Ladle over the stock to moisten, then offer the harissa to those who like a bit of heat in their food.
to make a store of bulgar wheat
Put 240g/8oz bulgar in a pan, cover with water and add a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 8 minutes, until tender. Drain and either use immediately or cool quickly and put into a sealed container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
bulgar and parsley salad for barbecued meat
The salad to make during a parsley glut – you will need a lot of tender leaves.
Serves 2
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 helpings of cooked bulgar wheat (see here (#ulink_8cef8c43-38d2-5bb3-b437-3d8aacb2b1cc))
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of
/
lemon
a pinch of sea salt
8 sprigs of parsley, very finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until golden. Add them to the bulgar wheat with all the other ingredients and stir well. Eat with flat breads (see here (#u8e6f119f-8ddb-472c-a3de-c5c0d68f0785)) or grilled meat.
lentils
With lentils you enter the realms of pulses, and the many braised dishes that can be made with them. These are foods that can form a meal in their own right, without meat, fish or eggs, because they contain proteins and fats, but you can also feast on them with those foods. Lentils that have been hulled and split, such as red lentils, are best for soft, sloppy dal-like dishes to eat with hot flat breads (see here (#u8e6f119f-8ddb-472c-a3de-c5c0d68f0785)), while whole lentils belong in stews and salads.
You can make a store of lentils – green ones are good because they will stay firm in a sealed container – eating them once with a big meal, then dipping into them for little dishes of curry, or in salads with semi-soft boiled eggs and herbs.
Puy lentils are the finest. They have blue-grey marbled skins and cost more than standard green lentils, which are over twice the size. Cooked, they have a shiny, almost caviar-like quality and pop pleasingly in your mouth. Both types are easy to overcook, becoming a dry, powdery hash, so keep an eye on them when they are on the go.
to cook puy lentils
Serves about 10
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 white onion, finely chopped
480g/1lb Puy lentils
/
teaspoon dried thyme
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the garlic, onion, lentils and thyme. Swish them around in the warm oil for a minute or two, then cover with water (or stock). Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes; when cooked, the lentils should be tender inside, with firm skins. Add more liquid during cooking if you need to.
Remove the pan from the heat and tip the lentils into a large, cold bowl – it is important to stop the cooking process and – if you are storing them – to cool them quickly before putting them in the fridge. Season with salt and pepper. When the lentils are completely cold, cover and place in the fridge, where they will keep for about 5 days.
kitchen note
Use a combination of red wine and water for a rich lentil stew to eat with beef or game.
lentils and eggs
Undeniably pretty to look at, this recipe has become a picnic lunch regular.
Serves 2
8 heaped tablespoons of cooked lentils (see here (#ulink_d1cc4bbe-3f55-5506-81de-c5e6550eb724))
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
3 sprigs of coriander, chopped
4 semi-soft-boiled eggs (see here (#litres_trial_promo)), peeled and halved lengthways
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the lentils in a bowl and add the oil, vinegar and three-quarters of the coriander. Season with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Spoon on to a flat dish and arrange the eggs on top. Scatter the remaining coriander leaves over them.
kitchen note
You can use a few pinches of a good curry powder to devil up the eggs a bit.
spiced green lentils with buttered spinach
Scoop this rich, green stew up with strips of hot flat bread – either bought naans or bread made using the recipe on here 22 (#u8e6f119f-8ddb-472c-a3de-c5c0d68f0785).
Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
/
teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 heaped tablespoons of cooked lentils (see here (#ulink_d1cc4bbe-3f55-5506-81de-c5e6550eb724))
150ml/
/
pint water or stock
150g/5oz unsalted butter, melted
480g/1lb frozen spinach leaves, defrosted, the water squeezed out
salt
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry over a low heat until it turns the colour of fudge. Add the spices and heat through, then add the lentils and cook for 1 minute, stirring slowly. Add the water or stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and season with salt.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan. When it foams, add the spinach and cook for 1 minute, until it wilts. Pour the spinach on top of the lentils, with the butter, and take it to the table without stirring.
braised red lentils with lime juice and fresh ewe’s milk cheese
A meal in itself – soft hulled red lentils, citrus, lots of spice as for dal and lumps of fresh, lemony ewe’s milk cheese – feta is best – added at the end. Serve in big bowls and abandon forks, giving everyone a big spoon instead. It can also be stored in the fridge for a few days and successfully reheated.
Serves 4–6
240g/8oz red lentils
1 onion, chopped
a pinch of ground turmeric
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 hot green chillies, chopped
2cm/
/
inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 kaffir lime leaves, slightly torn
240g/8oz feta cheese, broken into lumps
Put the lentils in a pan with the onion and turmeric, cover with water (or stock) and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes, then strain.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic, chillies and ginger and cook over a medium heat until singed light brown, but not burnt. Stir in the lentils, lime juice and lime leaves, then bring to the boil and add the cheese. Take to the table when very hot – the cheese will soften as it heats through.
beans
Beans are the pasta of Spain and the Latin American countries where they come from, but they do not share pasta’s convenience-food factor – unless bought in cans. Dried beans bought in the UK take a seeming age to cook and there is a reason for this. In countries where beans are really valued, they tend to be fresher even when dried, since they are taken from the new-season crops. Ageing beans, dry as can be and probably years old, are sent to those who care less about them – to, er, places like Britain, where everyone happily consumes chicken breasts and tiger prawns for their protein fix. So we get the old beans – the ones that take ages to cook. No wonder everyone prefers pasta. Chick peas are the worst – I once waited seven hours for a pan to produce a batch soft enough to eat. The energy cost must have run to the price of a rib of beef. You can buy better beans (there are specialist varieties in Spanish groceries), and patience – or a pressure cooker – will deliver nice tender beans eventually. It’s not that you have to do anything while they go through their eternal simmer, just that you have to be around – and most people would prefer to be doing something else.
It’s because of this that I am a fan of canned beans. I buy my haricots, cannellini, flageolet and black-eyed beans in cans. They still go a long way – averaging 30 pence per helping – and are perfectly cooked and ready to use. They keep for ever and, apart from being damned heavy to carry back from the shop, are a practically perfect food.
windowsill bean sprouts
Not the oriental sprouts but mung bean sprouts, left on damp paper. This is a lovely, crunchy little sprout that gives its liveliness to open sandwiches made with cold meat and mustard. Children can be put in charge of production – the biology lesson alone is healthy stuff.
Use an old wooden or plastic seed tray with drainage holes and put it on something leak proof. Cover with four layers of kitchen roll and dampen with water. Scatter mung beans on top and leave to germinate, moistening the paper again if necessary. When the sprouts are about 2cm/
/
inch high, after about four days, they are ready to eat.
You can do the same with herb seeds, and slavishly follow the current fashion for pointless but fun infantile plantlings. Frankly, bigger leaves have far more oomph. But there’s no harm in them, and buying big packs of coriander seeds will produce coriander babies in a matter of days, to chuck on to green salads, open sandwiches and shut ones.
butter beans marinated with shallots and watercress
