1 cup brown or green lentils 4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
≈
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
boiling water
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced red or yellow 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 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Rinse the lentils. In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils, water, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until tender, stirring occasionally.
While the lentils simmer, cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Combine the celery, peppers, onions, and parsley in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until smooth. When the sun-dried tomatoes have softened, drain and mince them, and add to the vegetables.
Drain the lentils and discard the bay leaves. Remove the garlic, mash it, and mix it back into the lentils. Toss the lentils with the vegetables and dressing, and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Serve immediately, or cover and chill to serve later.
PER 8-OZ SERVING: 277 CALORIES, 15.3 G PROTEIN, 63 G FAT, 44.8 G CARBOHYDRATE, 120 MG SODIUM, 0 MG CHOLESTEROL.
DRESSING PER 2-OZ SERVING: 343 CALORIES, 0.3 G PROTEIN, 38.1 G FAT, 1.9 G CARBOHYDRATE, 602 MG SODIUM, 0 MG CHOLESTEROL.
TOTAL TIME
30 minutes
SERVINGS
4
MENU
Serve this nutritious salad on a bed of lettuce, topped with feta cheese and olives and surrounded by tomato wedges and cucumber slices. Broccoli Egg-Lemon Soup (see page 24), Curried Cauliflower (see page 75), or Curried Corn and Peppers (see page 76) are agreeable companions for this salad.
Perhaps not gorgeous, but definitely tasty. With a little stock and some extra seasonings, leftovers can easily become lentil soup.