Warm lentils with pears and pecans

Cooking: 45 minutes

Ingredients

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

100g cavolo nero or kale, tough stalks removed, leaves torn into large bite-size pieces

40g pecan halves

4 smallish red onions, peeled, root-ends trimmed, each cut into 6 wedges

4 just-ripe pears, peeled, cored, each cut into 6 wedges

Juice of 1 lemon

270g dried Puy lentils, rinsed

75g vegetarian blue cheese, such as Dolcelatte, crumbled (optional)

2 handfuls of fresh dill or fennel fronds, torn into small sprigs, to garnish

Dressing

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp runny honey

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, crushed

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

l Preheat oven to 150°C. Rub 1 teaspoon of the oil into the cavolo nero leaves until lightly coated all over. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning once, until crisp. At the same time, scatter the pecans on to a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until they start to smell toasted. Roughly chop the pecans and set aside with the cavolo nero.

l Turn the oven up to 200°C. Put the onions on a baking sheet, toss in a little oil and roast for 25–30 minutes until tender. At the same time, toss the pears in the lemon juice and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Roast for 20–25 minutes until soft and slightly golden.

l Meanwhile, cook the Puy lentils in a pan of boiling water for 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and tip into a serving bowl. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing with any remaining oil and season. Spoon half of the dressing over the lentils, and turn until combined.

l To finish the salad, top the lentils with the red onions, cavolo nero and roasted pears. Scatter over the pecans and blue cheese, if using. Season and serve with the remaining dressing spooned over and the dill or fennel fronds to finish.

Recipe adapted from The Part-Time Vegetarian (Nourish)