These gently sweet-and-sour lentils are great, and you should definitely make them, but the real head-turner here is the whipped lemon tahini, shown to me by plant-based chef Kali Jago – it is now my favourite condiment. In short, tahini can transform into a creamy, delicious thing, which, like mayonnaise, is neither solid or liquid, and lovely to spoon down regardless. Unlike mayonnaise, however, it is easy to make: you just need to emulsify it with water and oil by pressing the “on” button on your blender.
Lentils with pomegranate molasses and lemon tahini
You’ll need a small blender or stick blender for this. Aleppo pepper is a fruity, sweet and gentle chilli that can be found in larger supermarkets, Middle Eastern specialist stores and online.
Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 brown onions, peeled and finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled
Fine sea salt
2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced (120g)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cardamom
340g brown lentils
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tsp aleppo pepper, plus extra to finish
30g flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stalks very finely chopped
120g tahini
1½ tbsp lemon juice
Put six tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat and, when hot, add the onions, whole garlic cloves and a teaspoon of salt. Stir to mix, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, until golden, reduced and brown. Transfer half the onion mix to a small bowl, and leave the rest in the pan with the oil.
While the onions are cooking, get the lentils started. Put two tablespoons of oil in a wide frying or saute pan for which you have a lid, and put it on a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the celery, cook, stirring, for five minutes, then stir in the spices.
Add the lentils, a teaspoon and three-quarters of salt and a litre of water, pop on the lid and cook for 30 minutes, until the lentils are cooked, then stir in the pomegranate molasses, aleppo pepper, parsley and all the onions and oil still left in the other pan (save the onions in the bowl to finish the dish).
To make the whipped tahini, use a small blender or stick blender to blitz the tahini, lemon juice, a tablespoon of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and 100ml water until thick and mousse-like.
To serve, divide the lentil mixture between four bowls, spoon a dollop of tahini in the centre of each bowl and dent it with the back of a spoon. Put a quarter of the onions from the bowl in the centre of each pool of tahini, then drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle a big pinch of aleppo pepper over each bowl, then serve.
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