Cod with lentils and bacon

I'm sure that there are fancier ways of cooking this that you would get if you visited a good restaurant. Well, restaurant visits are few and far between in this household so I guess that's one reason why this meal is a tasty change. I have to admit though that it did fox our little boy, he's normally quite adventurous and did try a few bites of this, but he was tired and really didn't want to try it tonight. I'm sure though that I'll serve it again another night and he'll try it again. We didn't make a fuss of him about it, merely encouraged him and when he was clearly not interested left him alone. He has to wait until we've finished our main course before he's allowed to leave the table and tonight I let him have pudding (sliced mango and a strawberry fromage frais) as he did try his main course.  

I'm still trying to use dried beans and pulses more but at the moment my biggest enemy is forgetting to put the beans in to soak the night before I intend on using them. However, the lentils I used for this dish are great, they need cooking for 15-20 minutes and then they're ready. I've got them in a jar because it looks nicer, but it means that I've lost the packet, so when I say they're green lentils, check your own packet first for preparation guidelines just in case! I had time this afternoon to pre-cook the lentils before assembling the dish but the recipe card that originally inspired this dish used ready prepared puy lentils. You could use a tin or pouch of lentils and it would cut down on preparation time but the end result would be just as tasty.

Cod with lentils and bacon (served 2 adults)

Cooking time: 30 minutes 

2 long sweet peppers

80g cooked green lentils

2 skinless boneless cod loins (another white fish would work equally as well)

1 mozzarella ball

3 slices of thinly sliced smoked bacon (this was all I had left after the weekend)

2 tomatoes (or baby tomatoes)

1 lemon

1 tbsp olive oil

Black pepper

1. Preheat an oven to 200C. Slice each pepper down the middle, keeping the stalk intact and remove the pith and seeds. Place in a large/medium oven dish and cover with the lentils.
   
2. Lay the cod on top of the lentils. Slice the lemon into quarters and place into the oven dish along with the tomatoes. If you're using full sized tomatoes, slice them into quarters, if using baby tomatoes put them in whole.
   
3. Thinly slice the mozzarella and place all over the dish, including the fish. Drizzle the olive oil over the whole dish and ground some black pepper.
   
4. Drape the bacon over fish and put in the oven to cook for about 30 minutes. If the bacon is cooking too quickly, lower the heat. I prefer crispy bacon so don't put tin foil over the top.