Green Lentils with Eggplant and Tomatoes

 

 

For me cooking, like art, is a creative process  and the end result should have visual appeal as well as taste good. This green lentil salad evolved in my kitchen this morning. The chopped red tomatoes stood out against the earthy brownish green of the lentils and the chopped eggplant. The green parsley was a bright accent. I was happy.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup of green lentils ( I used Ceres Organics French Green Lentils)
1 bayleaf
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 eggplant ( chopped into small cubes)
1/2 large onion ( finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic ( finely sliced)
A handful of parsley (finely chopped)
2-3  tablespoons of olive oil.
4 tomatoes ( seeded and chopped)
Salt  and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Dressing:

1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinregar
1 tablespoon of soya sauce

Method:

Rinse the lentils before cooking. Put the cup of lentils, the sprigs of thyme and the bayleaf into 4 cups of boiling water.
Boil for about 20-35 minutes until tender . No longer as you don't want mushy!
Drain and put in a ceramic bowl.
Stir the dressing ingredients together and pour over the lentils.

Fry the onion and garlic on medium heat for two-three minutes in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
Add the finely cubed eggplant and another tablespoon of olive oil
Keep frying over a moderate heat until the onion and garlic have crisped up a little and the eggplant has browned.
Stir the onion, garlic and eggplant into the lentils.
Leave to cool .
Deseed the tomatoes by halving and squeezing them over a bowl.
Discard the seeds and juice and cube the tomato flesh.
Add the cubed tomato flesh to the salad. Give it another good stir.
Sprinkle plenty of chopped parsley through the salad just before serving.