We are lucky to have a glut of tomatoes. This week’s post is a salad recipe to celebrate tomato season. When choosing tomatoes I like a ranage of colours and sizes, make sure they’re ripe! In this recipe I slow roast the tomatoes giving an intense sweet unami flavour.

• 200g cooked lentils

• 150g fresh tomatoes (baby or smaller sizes work best)

• 200g green beans

• 6 basil stalks

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 4 cloves garlic

• 2 tsp red wine vinegar

• Salt and pepper

Roast a large batch of tomatoes at once then keep in oil in the fridge. They’re great in replacement of sun-dried tomatoes, with pasta, in salads and in tarts and quiches.

If you’re a garlic lover, you can squeeze the leftover roasted garlic cloves and mix through the lentils.

 

Method for put lentil, tomato and green bean salad:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half and place in a roasting dish cut side up. Crush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, leaving the skins on and put in the roasting dish with the tomatoes along with two sprigs of basil. Drizzle with oil and season well with salt and pepper.
3. Cook tomatoes in the oven for an hour to 1 1/2 hours. Check every 30 mins letting any moisture out the oven.
4. Whilst the tomatoes are drying out cook the green beans. Top and tail the ends and cut in half. Put the beans into boiling water and cook for 5-8 mins. You want the beans to still have bite. Drain and rinse under cool water.
5. To cook your own lentils, use 100g dried lentils and cook in 500ml of boiling stock for 10-15 minutes, you want the lentils to be aldente.
6. Mix the cooled lentils and green beans season and dress with the red wine vinegar.
7. To serve top the beans and lentils with the semi dried tomatoes and decorate the salad with the remaining basil leaves.

This salad is great as a small side salad or as a main with poached chicken.