A Lentil Salad worth Making
Life is too short for bland food
Hey Everyone! BIG reveal on Instagram for me this week, but you know what, even though very personal, it felt authentic. I am not against people sharing publicly on their social media platforms, it's just not how I roll - until now I guess.
FOOD, it's always about food and although my interest in my own health has lead me down a new path, it will always remain about food and not just any food - GOOD FOR YOU FOOD that only happens to be very good for you too.
To the annoyance of my family, I simply can’t eat ‘kak’ food, it’s literally like something in me goes ‘nope, sorry not having that’.
It’s this childish refusal that means we end up rather cooking at home and unfortunately this also means killing any spontaneity right?
There are luckily certain places (ITALY!) where finding something is super easy, even the most crappy looking trattorias are 9/10 good and there are some places, where I know its going to be tricky (SPAIN!) and then I have to research and book places in advance.
Because as a FOODIE - life really is too short to eat bland food.
I love a good lentil salad! Lentils are cheap, soo good for you and they are such an easy vehicle for other delicious things.
The SECRET to any good DISH is variety - lets JAZZ it up!
You can use this recipe as a blueprint to ‘chop and change’ with what you have at home.
JAZZ IT UP 101
a herb element - so good as it adds a freshness and fragrance, think salsa verde or dressing. It’s quick to whizz up so within minutes you can add something ‘wow’.
a toasted nut - always toast your nuts because without roasting they can be pretty bland, think a dukkah or roughly chop shop-bought salted nuts, I like these.
a fat element - who does not love butter or a good ‘punchy’ extra virgin olive oil? - it is such an easy way to add flavour. Ingredients that go really well with melted butter/olive oil are sage leaves, rosemary, thyme, garlic, chilli’s, walnuts or pecan nuts, they ALL crisp up beautifully together.
a citrus element - it can be a simple squeeze of lemons or limes or even just the zest. Olives and goats cheese will be good too.
my chilli oil - what can I say, it really makes anything sing!
I never just simmer a grain, I always try to jazz up the cooking water by replacing it with stock or add some flavourings to the water like stalky herbs, peppercorns, whole garlic or a few onion quarters. You can then mash up the garlic after cooking, like I did in this recipe.
This recipe Serves 4 and can easily be made ahead - simply keep elements apart and bring together when you want to eat. The butter nuts should be made to serve.
If the lentils are not soft yet but the water has evaporated, simply add more water (1/2 cup?) and simmer & steam gently with the lid on until soft.
For a visual of the recipe tick (here)
Ingredients
Veggies:
enough veggies to fill a large tray, cut into same sizes (think beetroot, onions, butternut, fennel, cherry tomatoes, carrots, peppers, I really do mean ANY)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sumac (a tangy spice made from sumac berries, it tastes like pomegranates)
2 teaspoons Spanish smoked sweet paprika
extra virgin olive oil
Lentils:
2 garlic cloves, peeled, kept whole
1 1/2 cup dry brown lentils (I used French Puy) if you remember, soaked overnight
1/2 onion, quartered
2 bay leaves (or rosemary/thyme)
lemon zest and juice
Dressing:
•1 handful coriander/dill/parsley (either or all but only 1 handful!)
•1 clove garlic
•1/2 cup full cream Greek style yogurt
•2 tbspns goats cheese (from 1 log, the rest will go on the salad)
• 2 tbspns olive oil
Toasted Nuts:
• 2 tbspns each pine nuts, sunflower, pumpkin, flaked almond, chopped (use what you have)
•a good glug of extra virgin olive oil (the olive oil prevents the butter from browning too quickly)
•1/4 cup good salted farm butter
•3 sprigs woody herbs like sage, thyme, oregano or rosemary
To Serve: optional
rest of the goats cheese
sprigs dill
chilli oil
avocado
Method
1) Preheat the oven 200c - add veggies to a large baking tray, they should not overlap each other (we are roasting not steaming) - drizzle with oil, add the sumac, paprika & garlic, season with salt & pepper, mix with your hands & roast until golden, set aside.
(2) Lentils: Add lentils with 3 cups water, add the onion, garlic & herbs, simmer, lid ajar, until the water has evaporated and the lentils are ‘al dente’ (soft but still with a bite), mash the garlic, discard the herbs, add the lentils to a serving dish, season while warm with s&p, lemon zest and juice (to taste) and a good drizzle olive oil, have a taste, the lentils should be good enough to eat as they are.
(3) Dressing: add all ingredients to a Nutribullet and whizz - adjust seasoning.
(4) Buttered Nuts: when you are ready to serve - heat butter & olive oil until the butter is foamy, add nuts, pinch s&p & herbs, gently simmer until the butter starts to smell like biscuits, turn golden and slightly brown around the edges and nuts are crispy & golden - remove from the heat. You my friend have just made ‘beurre noisette!’ aka French for brown butter! It's a lifeskill. :-)
To Serve:
Add veggies on-top of seasoned lentils, add nuts, s&p & lemon zest, drizzle olive oil and your toppings of choice. Serve the dressing on the side or drizzle over salad.
Happy Cooking Everyone
x Adré