The recipe is a great standalone meal for those on plant based diet as lentils being rich in protein are a good alternative for meat. Adding the salmon adds makes it a more complete and fulfilling meal but the lentil base would be equally delicious on its own. You could replace the salmon with trout which contains less saturated fat.
The recipe has been written for canned lentils but I would strongly recommend you buy dried brown or green lentils and cook them yourselves. See below how to cook them from scratch.
A quick, cheat kind of recipe as it uses tinned lentils so cooking time is reduced greatly. The whole meal does not need to take more than 15 minutes in total as you can cook the salmon and the onions while cooking the rice. As most packaged salmon comes in two fillets, this recipe has been designed for 2 portions.
Ingredients (serves 2)
- 2 salmon fillets (you may substitute with a tin of tuna)
- Extra virgin olive oil, approx. 5 tablespoonfuls
- 1 small cup of basmati rice, approx. 75g
- 1 medium size white onion, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tin of lentils, drained
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- A few thyme leaves or a pinch of dry thyme
- 2 tbsp finely chopped herbs (parsley, coriander, dill, etc)
Method
Start by rinsing the rice in a small colander and putting it in a small saucepan that has a lid. Add 1 and ½ cup of water and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Bring the rice to the boil on medium heat and when you see bubbles on the surface, cover with the lid, reduce the heat to low and leave the rice to cook for 10 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave it to sand for another few minutes. Uncover and use a fork to fluff it up.
While the rice is cooking, put 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan with a lid and bring to a medium heat. Add the onion and stir to coat with the olive oil. Add the thyme, stir, cover and lower the heat. Leave the onion to cook until it caramelises (is sticky, soft and golden). Finely, add the balsamic vinegar and give it a good stir.
While the onion is cooking, rinse the salmon fillets and pat dry. Season with some salt and pepper.
Bring a frying pan to a medium heat, add a couple of tbsp of olive oil and when the oil is smoking, place the salmon fillets in the pan skin side down and hold with your fingers for a few seconds to keep them flat. Cook the salmon for 3-5 minutes depending on their thickness. It should still be a little pink in the middle.
In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with a squeeze of lemon juice, the remaining olive oil, a pinch of salt and a little pepper and half the chopped herbs. Stir to mix.
Drain the can of lentils in a colander and add them to the saucepan with the onions. Add the cooked rice too, season with salt and pepper and stir in the remaining herbs. Spoon onto a plate and shred the salmon over it. Top with a spoonful of the yogurt sauce.
HOW TO COOK LENTILS FROM SCRATCH
250g of dried brown lentils makes enough for two meals and even perhaps three if adding more ingredients to the lentils in the form of salad or soup.
Put 250g dried lentils in a pan and add 1 Ltr of water. Bring to the boil. Drain that first water and put back into the pan with a fresh litre of water. Add 1 bay leaf and 1 clove of garlic and cook until soft, depending on their size 15-25 minutes. The lentils should absorb all the water. Season with salt and pepper and put in an airtight container if not using immediately and transfer to the fridge.