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Delicious, healthy and versatile lentils are an ideal pantry item. Perfect in a salad with roasted vegetables or as a satisfying meal with grilled fish or chicken, once you've cooked up a pot of lentils, the world is your oyster. Be creative and see what's in the fridge to make a signature dish of your own.

Print Recipe

Serves about 8

Ingredients

For the Lentils

1 cup uncooked green lentils (pick through them for stones and give them a good rinse before cooking) will yield 2½-3 cups of cooked lentils

Sweet Potato, Celery Root & Feta Cheese

1 large onion, peeled & cut into thin slices
1 cup of roasted sweet potato and celery root (or any "roastable" vegetables such as kohlrabi, broccoli, butternut squash, peppers or mushrooms; leftover cooked vegetables would be great in this)
½ -1 cup chopped parsley
½ tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or to taste
¼ lb goat cheese (feta or farmers cheese work well too)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil, or to taste

Cherry Tomatoes & Hard-Boiled Eggs - Instead of Roasted Vegetables, Add:

12 cherry tomatoes, halved (or more if you prefer)
6 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half lengthwise

Seared Salmon & Grapefruit - For a Seafood Meal:

2 salmon fillets with skin, about 4-6 oz each
olive oil for pan
salt and pepper to taste
1 pink grapefruit, sectioned
chopped chives for garnish

How-to

Cook Lentils - View "How to Cook Lentils" to watch this process.

In a large saucepan (the lentils will nearly double in volume) place the lentils and cover them with 2" of water. Add a generous pinch of salt
Bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30-45 minutes. When they are cooked, drain them and set them aside

Lentil Salad w/ Sweet Potato, Celery Root & Feta Cheese

Saute the sliced onions over medium heat until dark brown (not burned) and caramelized. Roast the chopped vegetables in a 400º oven until they are cooked through to your taste
Put the onions and roasted vegetables in a large bowl with the parsley and cumin. Add half of the lentils and stir gently to combine. Add more lentils until you get the proportions you want
Drizzle the salad with vinegar and oil (about equal amounts of each). Sprinkle with salt and a good amount of freshly ground pepper
Add the feta and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for acid and salt as needed
This is good right away, but also holds really well so it can be made a day or so in advance. It tastes best at room temperature

Lentil Salad w/ Cherry Tomatoes & Hard-Boiled Eggs

To lentil salad add 12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
Place sliced hard-boiled eggs around the perimeter of the plate

Lentil Salad w/ Seared Salmon & Grapefruit

Add oil to heated saute pan and place salmon flesh side down
Cook about 4-6 minutes each side
Add to plate of lentil salad and garnish with grapefruit sections and chopped chives

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Comments (1)

Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009, at 4:22 pm by Carla & Anamelia Arriaga:

YUM! I love making lentil soup but never though of making a salad with it. The combination of sweet potato and feta is delicious. Thanks!

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Lentil Salad 3 Ways