Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Submitted by ratherbeswimmin

"I like this salad chilled and served on a bed of lettuce."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils or 1 cup green lentil
• 4 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1⁄3 cup sun-dried tomato (not packed in oil)
• boiling water
• 1⁄2 cup diced celery
• 1⁄2 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1⁄4 cup minced red onion
• 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh parsley

• Dressing

• 1⁄3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Rinse the lentils thoroughly.
2. Add lentils, water, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic to a medium saucepan; bring the mixture to boil.
3. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring frequently.
4. In a small bowl, add the sun-dried tomatoes and boiling water to cover; set aside.
5. In a large bowl, add the celery, bell peppers, onions, and parsley.
6. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth.
7. When the sun-dried tomatoes are softened, drain them, mince them and add to the vegetables.
8. Drain the lentils, discarding the bay leaves.
9. Add the lentils and dressing to the vegetables; toss to coat.
10. Serve immediately or cover, chill and serve later.

Reviews

[mianbao]

This is an excellent salad for people, and I am one of them, who like the licoricey flavor of fennel, and also are very fond of parsley. I made the dressing as given here, and cooked the lentils (brown ones) according to the recipe. I did make a few additions and substitutions in the vegetables - green onion for the red, and daikon instead of celery. I also added thinly sliced cucumber and a fresh tomato. I found a few hours in the fridge made the flavor even better, with the flavors mixing and mellowing. Thank you very much for sharing another fine recipe with us.

 

[fyrfli]

a very nice salad, i had to use a green pepper instead of red, yellow instead of red onion, and used my own dressing (it was the same but had a little honey in it). I will deffinetly make this again. Even my legume hating 6 y/o son liked it!

 

[LucyGoosey]

awesome on a bed of lettuce! made it 2 days in a row, and continue to keep making it every few days. As I'm dieting and this is a great filling entree on a bed of lettuce. Very tasty!!! So happy I tried it!