Food & recipes

Green lentils, caramelised pear and pedro ximénez salad

A quick fix dinner – light, healthy and absolutely delicious.

Dietary info Gluten free | dairy free | vegan | egg free

Serves 4 as a light meal

You’ll need:

2 pears (I like the sturdy Beurré

Bosc variety)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

60 ml (2 fl oz/1⁄4 cup) Pedro Ximénez 12 month-old sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons Pedro Ximénez sherry

50 g (1¾ oz) rocket (arugula) leaves or mustard greens (or both, as I’ve used here)

1 quantity cooked French Green Lentils (page 60), drained

40–75 g (1½–2½ oz/¼–½ cup) hazelnuts, roasted, skins rubbed off, roughly chopped

hazelnut oil for drizzling, optional

Cut the pears into eighths, and remove and discard the cores.

Place the olive oil, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar and the sherry in a small frying pan no larger than 20 cm (8 in). This size pan will give more depth of liquid (and thus more flavour) to the pears, and contribute to less evaporation. Toss the pears through the liquid, place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 15–20 minutes, turning the pears every now and then. At the end of this time, there should be about 2 tablespoons of liquid left in the pan. If it looks like there is more, increase the heat slightly and continue to cook until it has reduced. Remove the pears and set aside on a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of sherry vinegar to the pan and stir – this is now your dressing. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To put the salad together, arrange the rocket leaves on a serving platter and spoon the cooked lentils over the top. Using your fingers, gently toss together. Place the cooked pears over the lentils and scatter over the hazelnuts. Gently pour the cooled dressing over the salad and drizzle with a little hazelnut oil, if using.

Non-Vegan Alternative
A good goat’s cheese would be a nice addition to offset any sweetness. Crumble a little over the top of the salad once assembled.
If you have access to fresh and artisanal hazelnut oil, this would be the perfect finish for this salad.
You could use chicken stock to give greater depth to the dish, and make the lentils easier to digest.
Use the best-quality Pedro Ximénez sherry for this salad – ideally one that is fruity and sweet. If yours is slightly acidic, add a teaspoon of rapadura sugar to balance the flavour.