*Vegan
This salad hits every one of your taste buds—sweet, sour, savory, spicy, and smoked—and it works as a balanced, protein-packed dinner. If nutritionists actually cared about the taste of food, this is what they’d recommend.
FOR THE SALAD
2 cups dried green, brown, or French Puy lentils
1 tablespoon hot paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
3 hearts romaine, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach leaves
8 ounces hearts of palm, chopped
¼ cup olives (the good ones, not the crappy little green ones with pimientos)
¼ cup flaxseeds
¼ cup pickled green peppercorns (I can see you rolling your eyes from here. You can also sub in capers.)
2 apples, sliced
FOR THE DRESSING
½ cup olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1. Fill a large saucepan with 4 cups of water, the lentils, and both paprikas. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 35 minutes. Drain to remove any excess liquid. Set aside.
2. Combine the veggies, fruit, and seeds in a large bowl. Top with the warm paprika-spiced lentils.
3. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, mustard, and maple syrup together in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour some over the salad to dress, then save the rest in a jar. Toss the salad and serve.