Roasted Pepper and Lentil Salad

"This is based on a Weight Watchers recipe modified to suit my own tastes. A wonderfully simple salad that can play center stage at the meal or accompany grilled meat and vegetables. Travels well and would work well for a potluck or picnic."
 
Download
photo by PaulaG photo by PaulaG
photo by PaulaG
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
4
Advertisement

ingredients

  • 12 lb dry lentils, rinsed and picked over to remove debris
  • 6 cups water
  • 13 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 large red pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 12 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 18 teaspoon table salt, to taste
  • 18 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
  • 13 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
Advertisement

directions

  • Bring lentils and water to boil in a saucepan over high heat.
  • Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
  • While the lentils are cooking, char the red pepper over a high flame on the stove until the skin is blackened and blistered.
  • Place it in a paper or plastic bag for 10 minutes to get the skin to further loosen.
  • Remove skin from pepper and dice into 1/2 inch pieces.
  • Set aside.
  • Drain lentils and transfer to a large bowl.
  • Add vinegar, oil, garlic, peppers and basil; toss to combine.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Place salad onto serving platter/bowl or individual plates.
  • Top with feta crumbles.
  • Serve warm or chilled.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. This was way too vinegary for our taste - but the rest of the flavors were great. Next time I'll try it with 2.5 TBS of balsamic. Definitely worth tinkering with - this recipe has a lot of potential!
     
  2. I made this for a family reunion and it was a big hit! Being pressed for time, I used canned lentils and jarred roasted peppers and that worked beautifully. I also used soy feta to satisfy the vegans in the crowd. It was fully enjoyed by all :)
     
  3. Yum!! What an awesome dish. My whole family loved it. I used jarred roasted peppers, added a touch more balsamic, and was a little liberal with the S&P. We were all in heaven. I was happy that it is such a healthy dish to begin with and so different than anything else I ever make. I will definitely make this often and try it out on company soon.
     
  4. I doubled the recipe as I wanted to try it both warm and at room temperature. It’s delicious either way which makes it a great all seasons’ dish! The feta melting onto the warm lentils was just yummy, but for hot weather, the consensus was that room temperature was preferred. A fabulously flavoursome salad: just loved it, as did the family members I served it to. I liked the idea (Bunny Mom’s) of including lemon juice so I used part balsamic vinegar and part lemon juice. I used roasted red peppers that I purchase every week from an excellent deli (I can’t make better ones!), so that made this a very quick dish to prepare. I also used at least 2 peppers to the quantity of lentils in the recipe. At step 8, I added ½ teaspoon of cumin, and I doubled the basil. Rather more naughtily – as far as healthiness is concerned – I also doubled the feta. A superb topping! I love lentils and all the ingredients in this recipe. It’s a true 5 star +++++. Thank you, toni, for sharing yet another scrumptious-yumtious recipe, one which I know I’ll be making often!
     
  5. I love lentils and my list of favorite lentil recipes has just grown by one. I ran out of balsamic, so had to use part lemon juice. In my opinion, the feta is a "must". I served it w/out the feta for DH who is vegan, and forgot to put the feta on mine. It was sooo much better with the feta. I will admit to using regular feta, because my store doesn't have low-fat. Also, I used some roasted red peppers that I had frozen from my summer garden, and the worked wonderfully in this dish.
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. This was a delicious, light tasting and refreshing meal. Followed recipe exactly except added just a sqeeze of lemon. Very nice and new way to have lentils instead of always in soup or hot dishes.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I come from a long line of wonderful cooks and doing my best to hold up that tradition. My great-grandparents owned a coffee shop; my Nana was also a great cook and started the tradition of baking around the holidays, both cookies and fruitcakes. After she died, now a decade ago, our family decided to continue in her honor. The picture above is my mother's (Chef Hot Pans) dining room table just before we packed up our Christmas cookie trays. More that 20 kinds of cookies, many of which are from 'Zaar recipes. <br /> <br />I myself am an amateur cook with a penchant for ethnic foods and spice. Currently reforming my menu in favor of healthy dishes lower in fat with lots of grains and vegetables. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Southwestern and North African. <br /> <br /> <br />Some of my favorite public cookbooks include:</p> <li>ladypit's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33588> WW Core Recipes I Have Tried </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>shirl(j)831's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34888> Can this really be lowfat??? </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>julesong's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30566> Cooking Light Recipes </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>mariposa13's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/44690> WW &amp; Lowfat Recipes </a> </li> <p><br /><img src=http://members.aol.com/sdnt4life/dpg.gif alt=Dirty /> <br /><a href=http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/?action=view&amp;current=kitchen-special-hot2-1.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/kitchen-special-hot2-1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Animation1.gif alt=Image /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/4treasurehunt.gif alt=FFF#2 width=50% /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/purplechefhat.gif alt=Image /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/chef3.jpg alt=Image /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Adopted /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/200_artistrichardneuman-art-prints_.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/untitled.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=PAC /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZaarWorldTourFirst.gif alt=/ /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif alt=/ /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif alt=/ /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/AnimatedHostChallengeBanner.gif alt=ZWT3 /><img src=http://www.satsleuth.com/cooking/RecipeSwap2.JPG alt=width=50% /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/cookbookswap.jpg alt=/ /></p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes