Mediterranean Black Lentil Salad
Mediterranean black lentil salad makes a great main dish or side dish. It's full of plant-based protein and crunchy vegetables, is very adaptable, and is naturally gluten free and dairy free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup black lentils
- 3 cups vegetable broth or salted water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup sugar snap peas trimmed and sliced on an angle
- 1 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1 cup diced English cucumber
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
- sun dried tomato vinaigrette
Instructions
- Sort through the lentils and discard any discolored lentils or pebbles. Rinse well in a fine-mesh sieve and add to a medium saucepan with the vegetable broth or salted water and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low (it should be gently simmering) and cover with a tilted lid so the steam can escape. Cook for 18-20 minutes.
- Once the lentils are tender yet firm, drain the excess water through the fine-mesh sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain off as much liquid as possible.
- While the lentils drain, make the dressing.
- In a large bowl, toss the lentils, vegetables, herbs, and dressing together until well combined. Seaosn to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Chill the salad, covered, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld together. The flavor is even better the next day.
Notes
- This salad serves 4 if eaten as a main dish.
- You won't need all of the dressing. Start with 1/3 cup and add more as needed.
- You'll need about 2 1/2 cups of cooked lentils if using pre-cooked lentils. See the blog post for details.
- Find more helpful tips and storage instructions in the blog post.