CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.
I recreated this dish – smoked tofu with a Puy lentil and chilli warm salad – from one of the four courses served at my nephew’s and his wife’s wedding dinner at lake bled, Slovenia.
They are both vegans and the menu was very impressive.
My belief is if the food tastes beautiful and looks lovely, it shouldn’t matter if it’s vegan or vegetarian – to me it’s all about the flavour.
Just as a perfectly cooked steak or fish should be.
I’ve added (as I do in all of my recreated dishes) my own touches of magic. I’ve scattered some chilli and chives to enhance the peppery Puy lentils.
Puy Lentils, also known as lentilles du Puy, are grown in the volcanic soils of the Le Puy district in the Auvergne in central France.
Puy lentils offer exceptional flavour, and nutritional content, most notably mineral contents and particularly iron and magnesium.
As a source of anthocyanins, their dark colour, similar to that as found in blueberries and black grapes, provides valuable antioxidants.
Puy lentils are more expensive than any other type of lentil. Its peppery undertones and its ability to hold its shape and firmness when cooking makes it a perfect accompaniment to any special occasion.
But what makes this dish come alive is its broth.
Making your own vegetable broth will seem like a real pain, especially when you can buy stock cubes, pouches etc but trust me, the ease you can make your own broth with will be all worth it when you taste all of the vegetables which have been caramelised and braised carefully and slowly in every mouthful.
It’s that good, you could even just pour yourself a cup and drink it with a couple of rounds of bread and butter.
Smoked tofu with a Puy lentil and chilli warm salad
Ingredients
250g packet smoked tofu, drained and cubed
1/2 tsp of olive oil
1 red chilli, diced
Lentils
1 lime
Handful fresh coriander finely minced
Bunch of chives.
2 whole carrots added to the broth and diced (remove from broth after half an hour and leave to cool down)
Small knob of butter
Vegetable broth ingredients
Fresh Carrots cleaned and peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
1 garlic clove crushed skin left on
Bunch of celery cleaned and roughly chopped
Leaks cleaned and roughly chopped
Sprigs of thyme
Sprigs of Rosemary
1 litre of cold water
Handful of crushed whole peppercorns
1tsp of oil
