Dinner

A Lebanese trio and a radish mouse. . .

Black lentils with bulgur wheat. Place 150g of lentils in a pot with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and then drain and set the lentils aside. Clean the pot and add a generous splash of olive oil and fry 2 onions, which have been finely chopped. Let them brown, but don't burn. Now add 2 cups of water, and bring to the boil. The water will colour and the onions will soften further. After about 5 minutes add 75g of bulgur wheat, the previously parboiled lentils and a generous pinch of salt. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes, checking periodically to make sure there is enough cooking liquid.

Spinach with lamb. I cooked this meal sequentially. So once the lentils were done and on the table (they can be eaten hot or cold), I started on the lamb. Heat some olive oil in a pot and add 1 finely chopped onion and 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Fry and stir till clear. Now add 150g of fresh coriander which has been chopped, 50g of pine nuts and 400g of diced lamb (half inch cubes or smaller) and a tablespoon of Ras el Hanout. Cook and stir till the lamb is coloured and then add 300g of fresh spinach which has been roughly shredded. Stir well and allow the heat to wilt the leaves and cook down for a few minutes before adding about half a cup of water. Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for about 20 - 30 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking add the juice of one lemon. Serve with rice, to soak up the cooking juices.

Radish and rocket salad. I took one tablespoon of onion from the onion used above and chopped this very finely and let it sit in a teaspoon of lemon juice to extract some of the harshness. I used three handfuls of rocket, 3 radishes finely sliced and 6 cherry tomatoes roughly chopped. All the ingredients were then tossed together (while the lamb was finishing off) and then dressed with a tablespoon of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Radish mouse. Slice a small disc from the base - which will allow the mouse to stand. From this shape two ears. The eyes are black peppercorns, you could use cloves if you want eye lashes and a a bit more high camp. . .