Celeriac and Puy lentils with hazelnuts, red cabbage and mint

This all-year-round favourite is one of the first recipes I created for the pop-up cafe. It has Middle Eastern flavours, proving that Indian food is not the only outcome when you combine lentils with Ayurveda! For dinner parties, I like to raise the flavour profile by slightly caramelising the celeriac to make it even more sweet and nutty, but as an everyday dish it’s delicious as it is.

If you’re serving this in winter, make it more warming by braising the gem lettuce before setting it aside and gently sautéing the red cabbage until tender. If you have strong digestion – Pitta types take note! – then you can enjoy the veggies raw, but remember to chew thoroughly. You can serve this dish as either a salad or a stew, depending on whether the lentils are cooked until crunchy or soft.

Serves 4

60g (scant ½ cup) hazelnuts, cut in half

200g (1 cup) Puy lentils, preferably soaked for 8 hours or overnight

750ml (3 cups) water

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs of thyme

1 small celeriac (650g), peeled and cut into 1cm (½ in) wedges

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 tbsp hazelnut oil

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ red cabbage, very finely sliced

4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

2 gem lettuces, outer leaves removed and hearts quartered

1 Preheat the oven to 140°C (fan 120°C/gas mark 1) and scatter the hazelnuts on a small baking tray. Toast in the oven for 10–15 minutes. Alternatively, toast them in a dry frying pan over a low-medium heat until they smell fragrant and are golden all over. Continuously stir and watch closely – they’ll take about 1–2 minutes to toast. Set aside to cool.

2 Combine the lentils, water, bay leaves and thyme in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a sieve.

3 Meanwhile, place the celeriac in another saucepan and gently cook in just enough salted water to cover for 8–12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain.

4 In a large bowl, mix the still-warm lentils (if they have cooled down they won’t soak up all the flavours) with the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the hazelnut oil, the vinegar, black pepper and plenty of salt. Add the celeriac and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5 To serve, stir in the red cabbage, half the mint and half the hazelnuts. Pile onto a serving dish with the gem lettuce. Drizzle the remaining hazelnut oil on top. Garnish with the rest of the mint and hazelnuts.