Crunchy Lentil Salad
"Taken and adapted from Jeanne Lemlin's "Quick Vegetarian Pleasures" -- a superb cookbook that should be in every kitchen! This salad is so much more yummy than you might think from the list of in gredients ...."
photo by ANN N.
- Ready In:
- 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1 cup lentils, rinsed
- 5 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 celery ribs, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1⁄2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1⁄4 cup olive oil (garlic-infused is great)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is best)
- 3 -5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 -2 teaspoon salt
- ground black pepper
directions
- Combine lentils, water and bay leaf in saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes (or until lentils are tender but crunchy). Drain thoroughly.
- Mix lentils with minced celery, carrot, onion and parsley. NOTE: This salad is much better if you make sure all vegetables are finely diced; the flavors blend much better than if you've used a regular-to-large dice.
- Mix the dressing: Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour over lentils and toss.
- You can serve this right away, but the flavors blend beautifully if you refrigerate for a day or two. Serve at room temperature.
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Reviews
-
Love this salad, great to have in the fridge for quick meals. I agree about the baby beluga/ black lentils-- they are perfect for this. Colors are festive, and the black lentils hold their shape so well. Trader Joes has excellent precooked baby belugas which make the recipe even faster & easier. After letting the salad marinate overnight in the fridge, I corrected the seasoning with lots more lemon juice and more cumin. I would never had thought to use cumin, but it's PERFECT and brings the whole dish together. Great salad, looks festive over baby greens. Now a staple! -
This is so good. Much better than you would think it would be. I followed the recipe exactly and it was wonderful. I chopped everything in my mini- chopper. -
I changed the recipe a bit so I'm not sure I should even be rating, but as a base, this was just wonderful. I left out the cumin (personal preference) and added in a yellow bell pepper and a cucumber. I grated the carrot and fine-diced everything else and the result was great. -
Very good salad. I served it over mixed greens. I cut the garlic down ...I love garlic but it doesn't love me. Easy lunch. -
Only change was to use black "beluga" lentils, since they are especially good at holding their shape and the color "pops" against the orange of the carrot and green of the celery. ice vinaigrette (although I did cut back a bit on the garlic). Excellent to take to a picnic or potluck. Thanks!
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>My husband and I live in Cambridge MA with our dog Archie. <br /> <br />I used to be a mediocre cook, with little interest in cooking ... then I joined Weight Watchers in Oct. 2006. I finally realized that to maintain my weight, I needed to find lots of extremely yummy, healthy foods that I enjoyed eating -- and the best way to do that is to learn to cook, and to learn to enjoy cooking. This web site has been 95% responsible for getting me there! <br /> <br />As of Oct. 2007, I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, having lost 70 pounds and weighing less than I've ever weighed as an adult. I owe a lot of it to the recipes I've found here! <br /> <br />Re: rating recipes -- I only give out five and four stars, and very occasionally three stars. I don't see any point in giving lower scores; I can't be sure a recipe has turned out badly because of something I've done. Besides, even if I don't like it, the next person might -- and if they see a one-star review, they'll never bother to try it. So I review the ones I've loved, and don't say anything about the ones that didn't work for me. <br /> <br />Hooray for vegetables! <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e347/Saturn6666/KiwiDutch/3chefstag1.jpg alt= /> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif alt= /> <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></p>
