Eat humble Puy

Puy lentils are the type of thing I could happily eat on any given night. They also have become “posh” in many fine establishments, and can be found cosying up to a sublime piece of halibut or a beautiful confit duck leg. Equally, they can slum it and sit under a few bangers, replacing the ubiquitous mash.

If you are in a hurry and need to make something nutritious, you can soak them in cold water for 20 minutes while you get an onion sweating in a little olive oil, add a sliced leek and maybe a couple of diced carrots.n drain your lentils, throw them into the saucepan, top with some water, season lightly and pour in a tin of tomatoes and cook until most of the water has cooked off and the lentils are tender.

Scrape in some garlic cloves and presto, you have a wholesome veggie goulash that lots of kids would eat, especially with a little grated cheese on top. A sprinkle of goat’s cheese and a bunch of leaves – perhaps some raw spinach – stirred in so that it wilts just enough to shove on your fork – would be dinner in a hurry, for me.

But when I have more time and the cupboards are a little fuller, this warm winter salad is exactly the type of thing I could happily live on. Chorizo is one of those things that is so, so tasty and accordingly, is not one of your five a day. So I only eat it on special occasions.

Recently I sat next to my Spanish pal, Fernando, while we scoffed fried slices of chorizo, dunking them into a nice romesco sauce. Fernando declared that "nothing else matters in life, but chorizo". It was at the start of the evening, so wine wasn't to blame. But as I took my second bite, I started to think he was on to something. It really is delicious and may just have to be the new amuse bouche for my death row meal.

The potato and olive bread was easy to make, using dried yeast and the flesh from baked potatoes. I like baking bread, but rarely do it. This is a foolproof recipe that gives you an incentive to do it again, and it is very forgiving.

Both of these recipes are very tweakable with regards to fillings or toppings. If you are on a bit of a health buzz, you could leave the chorizo out and put in grilled red peppers or sundried tomatoes. Same with the bread – ditch the olives if you can't stand them and top with goats cheese, slices of tomato or even some artichoke slices, along with some herbs and olive oil.

dkemp@irishtimes.com