I’ve got a real thing for legumes, especially the littlest member of the legume family — lentils. Did you know they carry canned lentils at the new, improved Stop & Shop? Well, they do, and it’s been life-changing for me. Now all I have to do is buy a few cans and rinse using a mesh strainer, and I’m ready to do just about anything with them.
This time of year, it means I can use them for the foundation of a salad packed with other flavors. I’ve gotten some great ideas from the Love and Lemons website, and this recipe for Lentil Salad is my current favorite. It holds up well for a few days in the fridge, and it’s perfect for packing in your lunch. It includes some Mediterranean flavors, which makes it even better in my book.
As usual, I didn’t want all these ingredients in my salad, so I upped the amount of lentils to three full cans, and then I warmed up one of those Seeds of Change packages with quinoa and brown rice and added that to the lentils. I dropped the lacinato kale, Persian cucumbers, radishes, parsley, and mint, and I used red grape tomatoes instead of yellow. I’m positive it’s terrific if you follow this recipe to a T; I just like to change things up. It makes me feel like the recipe is my own.
With the addition of chopped green olives and feta, along with the lemony salad dressing, this salad really does take on a Mediterranean spin. I think you’ll love it.
Lentil Salad
Dressing
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Italian seasoning, or za’atar
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
2½ cups cooked French green lentils, from 1 cup uncooked
3 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into half-moons
¾ cup yellow grape tomatoes, halved
½ cup diced red onion
4 lacinato kale leaves, stemmed, leaves torn
4 red radishes, thinly sliced
heaping ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
heaping ½ cup green olives, pitted and halved
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
Instructions
Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, Italian seasoning, salt, cumin, and several grinds of pepper.
Assemble the salad: Add the lentils, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, kale, radishes, feta, and olives to the bowl with the dressing, and toss to coat. Add the parsley and mint and toss again. Season to taste, and serve.
