Lentil Salad With Feta Cheese

Mizzy's Note:

a delicious and refreshing lentil salad. Add fresh mint if you can find some.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb brown lentils
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small onion
• 1 stalk green onion
• 2 stalks celery , cubed
• ½ lb crumbled feta
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons mint (optional)

dressing

• 1⁄3; cup olive oil
• 1⁄3; cup red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon za'atar spice mix

Directions:

1. cook lentils according to directions on bag, until tender (but not mushy).
2. remove from heat and let cool at room temperature.
3. Chop up all the vegetables, and crumble the feta.
4. Combine all the salad ingredients together.
5. In a small bowl prepare dressing by whisking all the ingredients together.
6. Pour dressing over salad, mix well and chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Reviews

[aspiringourmet]

very good recipe to work with. i put in diced yellow pepper, green onion, cucumber and tomato. I also threw in some leftover orzo and fresh thyme. yummy. Thanks!

[Sackville]

Fantastic recipe. I increased the feta because I love it so much. This gets even better after one or two days in the fridge. I've had it for lunch and as a side to a couple meals now. Definitely include the mint. It adds a lot to this salad.

[sugarpea]

This salad is just excellent. The lentils cooked more quickly than I expected so they were a bit softer than I would have preferred but no harm. The salad was still beautifully textured and deliciously seasoned. I used evelyn/athens' zaatar Za'atar since this recipe only calls for 1/2 tsp and I wanted to avoid spending money on a jar of seasoning that was going to lose its potency in a couple of months. The instructions don't mention the addition of the salt and bay leaf so I assumed they were to be added to the boiling lentils. Dh wants to make sure I tell everyone that the salad makes an excellent filling for tortillas warmed in the microwave. Any recipe that gets Dh to relish lentils is definitely a keeper. Thanks, Mizzy.