Lentil Salad

My brother supports Liverpool, a famous British Football team, what's the point you ask? Well I once loved them because of Michael Owen but once I'd gotten over my teenage affectations I found another side of them I loved...their slogan. You'll hear it rising and echoing from the stands and see it on every piece of memorabilia: "You'll never walk alone". Not doing things alone is a firm favourite of mine; I try not to drink alone too often and I really really try to never eat alone.

There's a a great advert by pick 'n pay out that looks at the family unit and the positive effects of eating dinner at the table and as much as I am a sucker for a bit of sentiment I have to agree. It's important, it makes you feel good; cooking for other people is always more rewarding than cooking just for one. A bottle of wine always tastes better shared and gives you an excuse to open a second.

I am not just talking out of my proverbial, it's has been proven that:
"...increased television viewing is directly correlated with a higher body mass index (BMI)"
People who watch TV while eating their lunch end up consuming more snacks during the afternoon, the British university study found.It seems obvious on reflection but children who eat dinner with their mum and dad on a regular basis do better at school, are more confident and have less chance of developing eating disorders. Couples who eat together stay together longer and have better sex lives. The list goes on and on.

So before you reach for the remote think twice, turn off the telly and dust off the dining room table. Surround yourself with the lovely people in your lives; invite someone over, it might even mean you get lucky tonight...

Gorgeous Lentil salad

Ingredients: (serves 8)

• 4 cups brown lentils
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• 1 sachet Ina Paarman's chicken/veg stock
• 3 large/5 small yellow peppers
• 1 punnet cherry/rosa tomatoes
• 5 spring onions (chopped)
• 1 packet pimento stuffed green olives
• handful mint (chopped)
• handful parsley (chopped)
• 4 tbsp lemon infused olive oil (infused olive oil of your choice)
• salt and pepper to taste
• lemon wedges to serve

Method:

• Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add lentils, cinnamon sticks and stock and boil until tender, about 20 minutes, drain and set aside to cool.

• Meanwhile, pop the grill on high. Char the peppers until black on all sides under the grill and then put them in a plastic bag and seal it. Leave for 10 minutes to sweat. Turn the oven off grill and onto preheat to 200*C, pop tomatoes into a baking dish, sprinkle over salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

• Take peppers out of the bag and peel off the charred skins, remove pips and slice.

• Put cooled lentils in a bowl and throw in the rest of the ingredients. Stir it all up nicely and serve with lemon wedges AT THE TABLE SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS AND WINE