Truly different, exotic and quite exciting to taste! Make sure the fennel is well grilled and if you don’t think it’s soft enough, put them on a baking tray in a very hot oven for about 10 minutes max.
Serves 4 -6
200 g Puy lentils (I used the vacuum packed ones you can buy)
5 medium fennel bulbs
30 ml white wine vinegar
80 ml pomegranate molasses
80 ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup natural yoghurt
300 g walnuts, roasted and chopped
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 red onion, finely diced
zest and juice of 2 lemons
seeds of 1 pomegranate or 1 packet of pomegranate seeds
In a large saucepan, boil the lentils until al dente (20 to 30 mins). Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
OR
Open a ready cooked vacuum pack of puy lentils, measure out 200 g, put them into a microwave dish and heat up for 2 minutes, then break apart the lentils with a fork and set aside.
Cut each fennel bulb lengthwise into 6 wedges Grill or bbq over medium heat for about 20 minutes until tender. Set aside. (You could use a George Foreman grill for this too)
For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, pomegranate molasses and olive oil and season well.
Season the yoghurt with sea salt and black pepper and refrigerate
Combine the remaining ingredients except the pomegranate seeds and season
Serve the tabouleh over the fennel slices, scatter the pomegranate seeds over and drizzle with the dressing and the yoghurt
Good with a Sauvignon Blanc