Robin Ellis

We first had this dish at Donald Douglas’s birthday lunch. (Donald played the dourly determined Captain MacNeil in Poldark and has been a cherished friend and neighbour of ours here in France for years.) It was his step-daughter Daisy’s birthday contribution to the celebratory feast…

…together with a magnificent cream sponge with lighted candles!

It’s versatile and can be served in a number of ways–as a salad or a vegetarian main course or a side dish–it has a pleasing depth of taste.

Soaking the brown rice beforehand helps it to cook more easily in time with the lentils.

100gms basmati brown rice

175 gms puy/green/brown lentils

1 tblsp cumin seeds

1 tblsp coriander seeds

2 tblsps olive oil

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp each ground allspice and cinnamon

salt and pepper

300 ml hot water

1 large onion–peeled, halved and sliced

2 tblsps olive oil

Small bunch parsley or coriander–chopped

• Wash the rice and soak it in a bowl of cold water for twenty minutes.

• Dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small pan until they begin to colour.

• Then pop them in a mortar and pestle them to break them up a bit.

• Wash and drain the lentils,  bring them to the boil in plenty of water and cook them until they begin to soften–about twenty minutes–they should not become mushy.
• Drain the lentils and return them to the pan.
• Mix all the spices with the two tablespoons of olive oil.
• Drain the rice and add it to the lentils in the pan.
• Mix in the spices and turn over everything together.

• Integrate the hot water and season with salt and pepper.

• Bring up to the boil, turn the heat to low and cover the pan tightly.
• Cook until the rice is done–allow about thirty minutes.

• As it cooks heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion slowly until it colours and crisps a little.

• When the lentils and rice are cooked fold in the onions–leaving some to sprinkle on top with the parsley or better still the fresh coriander.