Fridge clear-out: Salmon with puy lentils and a piquant tartar-ish sauce

We don't have one of those amazing double-doored, ice-making, cheerleading American-style fridges. Ours is a resoundingly British style of appliance - shyly hiding in a cupboard, functional yet full of eccentricities: an unopened jar of stem ginger, some thai shrimp paste, a half eaten pot of overpriced organic nectarine compote and a jar of pink peppercorns. It's not a good "Ready Steady Cook" bag, is it?

In an attempt to tidy up some of the fridge detritus I made the salmon dish below. It was a good way to use some capers, gerkins, a manky old lemon and a couple of pieces of salmon I had in the freezer. My boyfriend was freakishly enthusiastic about the tartar-esque sauce and I think that, although it was a complete exercise in leftovers-usage, it was actually really tasty.

Salmon with puy lentils and piquant sauce 

For the salmon:

2 salmon fillets

1 lemon

For the lentils:

- Enough puy lentils for two

- 1 red onion

- 1 tomato

- Slosh of olive oil

- A little chicken stock

For the piquant tartar-ish sauce:

- Tablespoon capers

- 4 gerkins chopped

- Teaspoon mustard

- 3 tablespoons creme fraiche

- Tablespoon of chives (including a couple of chive flowers if you're growing your own)

Put salmon fillets into a bowl and squeeze the lemon juice over the pieces.

Chop the onion and fry gently in oil until soft, add the tomato and then the lentils to the pan and swizzle about to coat the lentils in oil. Add enough chicken stock to cover the lentils and simmer gently checking from time to time to ensure the mixture doesn't dry out or catch.

To make the picante tartar-ish sauce, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine. That's it!

When the lentils are cooked - about 20 minutes usually, but just keep checking - heat some oil in a frying pay and lightly fry the salmon for about 5 minutes on each side. It will keep cooking after you take it out of the pan so be careful not to overcook.

Pile the lentils into a bowl, top with a piece of salmon and a dollop of the sauce. We have some chives on our balcony so had some lovely chive flowers to add a rather showy-offy flourish to the plate.

Not bad for some unloved fridge leftovers.