Benny's Cafe @ Nelligen and a Lentil Salad @ Narooma

We have escaped Canberra for Narooma this weekend. With the dog on board we have a few pit stops on the way down, the best being at Nelligen on the Clyde River. Pre dog days we always stopped at Braidwood Bakery for the bread and the pies (chunky steak and kidney or black pepper are my favourites) but we now just pull in at the park down by the river to give Princess Pearl a run around before heading over the Clyde Mountain.

At Benny's Cafe at Nelligen we had a feast of fish and chips at $8 each -  it was blue grenadier on Friday, fresh, hot and delicious. We could have shared as helpings are large. You can sit on the deck or go and sit on the benches and look at the river. The old Benny's burnt down Easter 2010 but has since been re- built. I cannot in all honesty recommend the coffee but who has coffee with fish and chips anyway. Nelligen is a great break in the journey ( however not for petrol as there is none).

Dinner on Friday night on arrival at the fibro was lamb shanks with silver beet and potatoes. Last night, having spent the afternoon with Narooma oysters and bubbles in the sun we opted for leftovers of the shanks and a salad of blue lentils.

I soaked the lentils for a few hours, rinsed them off and put them in a pot of salted water. I brought them to the boil and then simmered them until they were just tender. There is a definite need to watch the blue lentils as they will get too mushy if you take your eyes off them. If you soak them for several hours they need very little simmering at all. When just tender I ran them under cold water, drained them and dressed them immediately with a lemon, olive oil, cumin, chilli flakes and garlic dressing. Come serving time I added chopped red onion, chopped preserved lemon, chopped celery (because I had some and wanted some crunch), chopped coriander leaves and crumbled feta on top. Blue lentils and puy lentils are wonderful in salads. I will go down the leftover path again tonight as the lentil salad improves the next day in flavour so a good steak on the bbq with the lentil salad and baby cos will do for tonight. There are more oysters and bubbles to be had this afternoon!

 Back to Canberra tomorrow where I have 2 duck marylands waiting for a bit of duck confit treatment. Off to Enzed on Wednesday to see my Mum and have a visit with the Dancing
Sister. Smoked snapper here I come!!! If only it was feijoa season.

UPDATE: BENNY'S HAS SOLD UP AND WILL RE-OPEN IN SEPTEMBER 2015. I WILL UPDATE AGAIN ONCE I HAVE VISITED THE NEW CAFE.