Basic Lentil Salad
I love black lentils because even the canned version holds shape very well and provides a great texture. While you could definitely use them in place of green lentils in my lentil soup recipe or lentil tikka masala, I actually prefer to eat them cold as part of this colorful, veggie-packed salad. You can purchase dry black lentils and cook yourself by boiling in water or broth, or you can buy precooked canned lentils, which is what I did for this recipe here. Canned lentils are a versatile pantry staple I highly recommend keeping on hand!
Servings: Makes 2 salads as a meal, 4 as a side.
Ingredients
1 (15-oz.) can lentils (or ~3/4 cup dry)
1 small cucumber, very finely diced
2 celery stalks, very finely diced
1/4 a red onion, very finely diced
1/2 a bell pepper, very finely diced
2-4 cups leafy greens (your choice: tuscan kale, spinach, arugula)
Dressing*:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice from ½ a lemon
1 Tbsp 100% maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
½ Tbsp mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
*Note: If you prefer to use a store bought dressing to save time, either an Italian or lemon garlic dressing would be great with this! Use ~2 Tbsp
Directions
Add the canned lentils to a strainer and drain and rinse with water. Set aside to let the water drain from the strainer while you dice the vegetables.
Dice the celery, cucumber, onion, and bell pepper into very small pieces. Add together to a large mixing bowl, and drizzle about a tablespoon of the dressing (either homemade dressing recipe listed above, or your favorite storebought), stir together gently with a large spoon. Add in the black lentils, along with an additional tablespoon of dressing. Stir together gently again, adding more dressing and/or more salt as desired.
You can either eat this as is, or add on top of a bed of your favorite leafy greens. I prefer chopping my greens into bite-size pieces, and mixing it into the rest of the vegetable & lentil mixture. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
