Life has been CRAZY lately! Our youngest is almost 8 months old and just started crawling! I’m almost completely done with my shopping/wardrobe makeover so I’m really happy about that! Life is good, I can’t complain!
So… I’m totally addicted to the oil-free lentil salads at Whole Foods! Since WF is 20 miles away and costs a wee bit more than you’re usual takeout food (my hubby calls it “Whole Paycheck”) I decided to come up with my own lentil salad recipe. This is a mixture of several different recipes. It’s not exactly like theirs but it’s pretty darn good! I usually double this recipe and eat it all week. It makes a great after-workout snack! Our toddler loves it too!
Crunchy Cold Lentil Salad
Crunchy Cold Lentil Salad
– 1 cup of lentils – I use green lentils
– 1 bay leaf
– 2 cups mini heirloom tomatoes (YUM!)
– 1 cup bean sprouts – I use mung bean sprouts but you can leave this out if you don’t like sprouts
– 1 green onion sliced
– A handful of Flat leaf parsley, chopped
– 1 bell pepper, diced (red would be good too!)
– The juice of a lemon with a little or a lot of zest
– A splash of apple cider vinegar
– 1 shallot, diced
– A little Dijon mustard – about 1-2 tsp
– 1/3 cup dried cranberries
– 1 T honey or maple syrup
– 3 to 5 garlic cloves , minced
– 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
– 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
– Salt, to taste
– Ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring water to a boil and add lentils and bay leaf. Let lentils stand in hot water for about 30-40 minutes. I like mine super crunchy but test them to see how you like them. Drain and let cool for another 30 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice and zest, vinegar, shallot, Dijon mustard, honey/agave, garlic, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper. Add chopped tomatoes, parsley, green onion, dried cranberries, sprouts and bell pepper.
3. Remove the bay leaf and add the lentils to the mixture. Put in fridge and chill for a couple of hours or more. It’s really good the next day! Serve cold.
Mini heirloom tomatoes are really good in this dish!
So colorful! Ready to add lentils!
I used brown lentils… or maybe these are considered green? Either will work!
Delish!
Related articles
- Red Lentil Curry (kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com)
Tags: Bay leaf, cold lentil salad, Cook, crunchy lentil salad, Food, Lentil, mustard, salad