Name: Green lentils, poached pear and chestnuts, broccoli, caramelized onions and currants
Yield: For 6–8 as a starter or side dish
Ingredients: 1 tbsp chopped mixed fresh hard herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano); 3 tbsp sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar; 200 g (7 oz.) vacuum-packed chestnuts, rinsed and drained; 75 ml (5 tbsp) olive oil; 1 head broccoli, cut into florets; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 5 cm (2 in.) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 cinnamon stick; 3 star anise; 250 ml (1 cup) red wine; ½ red chilli, sliced; 100 g (3½ oz./½ cup) sugar (or use honey or maple syrup); 2 bay leaves; 250 g (9 oz./1¼ cups) green lentils, rinsed and drained; 2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced; 50 g (1¾ oz./⅓ cup) currants; 4 firm, ripe pears

Preparation info

For
6–8
as a starter or side dish

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Savour

By Peter Gordon

Published 2016

About

This is a lovely autumn (fall) or winter salad that you could also top with crumbled semi-firm cheese or grated (shredded) Comté cheese. The chestnuts I used were vacuum packed and are available all year round, but there’s nothing better than freshly roasted ones if they’re available. Puy lentils work well here in place of the green lentils, but you could also use bulgur wheat or pearl barley.