Cooking, Recipes, Wine............ and Ethical Foie Gras - At Last!

PESTO

1 Large onion, chopped
125g red split lentils
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 1/2 pints water
(or 1 pint tomato juice, 1/2 pint water)
salt and pepper
a little oil
2 tbspn tamari or shoyu

Gently saute the onion until transparent.

Add the lentils and sautee for a couple of minutes more.

Half soup, half stew, this serves two as a main course.   You can substitute any fish - it doesn't have to be haddock and it can work with different fish combinations.

1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 ½ pints stock (veg or chicken)
½ lb button mushrooms
butter & vegetable oil
chopped parsley
1 tablespoon dry sherry – optional

Soften finely chopped onions in butter/oil mix – BUT DO NOT brown.

Wipe & slice mushrooms, add to onion and cook slowly until soft, 10 – 15 minutes.

Add stock and bring to the boil.

DO NOT continue to boil.

Just before serving add parsley (and stir in the sherry if you're going to use it).

Yotam Ottolenghi has been writing a series in the Guardian called The New Vegetarian and almost every recipe strikes a chord with me.  Original, fresh combinations of ingredients taking inspiration from the Med and the Middle East as well as a truly global palette....  I thought the following looked particularly good:

Yogurt flatbreads with mushroom ragout