Haloumi and Puy Lentil Pasta
One thinks of pasta as a summery dish, but this recipe makes a warming winter dish and it’s quick to make too. The puy lentils give this pasta dish a robust wintry feel with the chilli gremolata giving it a chilli kick.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
100g puy lentils
340ml water
1/2 tsp bouillon powder
1 bay leaf
Gremolata
Ingredients
3 small red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
3 tsps fresh oregano, chopped
2 slices white bread, crusts removed
1 tsp olive oil
2 small bulbs of fennel, finely sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
250g haloumi, thickly sliced (3/4 cm)
125g baby spinach
2 tbsps crème fraîche
2 tbsps fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
75-100g festoni or penne per serving
Method
Place the puy lentils in a pan with the bay leaf, boullion powder
and water and simmer until tender, adding more liquid if necessary.
When cooked drain, rinse under cold water. Set aside.
To make the gremolata, In a mini food processor, wiz the chillies,
garlic, oregano and white bread to a breadcrumb consistency. Heat
the olive oil in a small frying pan and stir-fry until golden and
crispy, decant onto a piece of paper towel to absorb any excess
oil.
Fry the fennel in the olive oil, until it has softened and starts
to caramelize.
Set the fennel to one side and dry fry the haloumi until golden on
both sides. Chop into chunks.
Cook the festoni or penne in a big pan of boiling water with a
pinch of salt and a drop of olive oil.
When the pasta is cooked “al dente”, drain off most
of the water leaving a couple of tablespoons in the pan. Keep the
heat on very low. Stir in the crème fraîche, parsley,
spinach, puy lentils, fennel and haloumi.
When the spinach has wilted and everything has heated through
season to taste and serve with a sprinkling of the gremolata.