Roasted Pepper Salad w/ Lentils & Anchovies

I love this salad.

It is from a book that is probably my favorite cookbook of all time.
I don't talk about it much here on this blog, because it's out of print and not available anymore, and I don't want to make you feel bad.

It is called Living and Eating, and is from the UK, published in 2001.
There is a UK edition with a different cover from the US version.

This is the only book I would take with me if I had to pack and leave quickly.
It is beautiful to read and every recipe I have made over the years has been wonderful.
If you want to read a little about it, click here for a review.

The food is simple with a little Irish and English thrown in. Farm to fork, before it was fashionable.

Besides The Silver Palate, this is the cookbook that started me cooking and upped my game.

I know, I'm sorry, I'm teasing you, you can only find a used copy on ebay or amazon. But go for it, it's beautiful and like a good old friend, priceless.

I promise not to mention it again.

Since I have so many new cookbooks to leaf thru and try, I put this one on the back shelf.
But the other night I revisited it, only to find a whole bunch of new recipes that I had never tried, like this wonderful red pepper salad w/ lentilles de Puy and anchovies.

This was perfect with fish, and nice and light for the warm weather months.

Roasted Pepper Salad w/ Lentils & Anchovies: (adapted from Living and Eating by John Pawson)

4 large red peppers, cut into quarters, seeded
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
kosher salt & pepper
olive oil
8 anchovies, cut in half
1 cup of French lentils
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

In a roasting pan, nestle the peppers together, making sure they are all snuggled in nicely.
Tuck in the herbs and garlic in and around the peppers.

Drizzle w/ kosher salt & pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake in a 375F oven for 50-60 minutes, turning once or twice.

While the peppers are roasting, prepare the lentils.

Simmer them for 30 minutes until no longer firm. Drain and rinse under cold water.

The peppers are done when they have some nice char on the edges. Remove from the oven and splash a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar on them and add the lentils and anchovies.
Mix together, discarding the bay leaves and thyme stems.

Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.

Great the next day too.

Enjoy!