Monthly Archives: November 2019

Red Lentil & Tart-Apple Salad (masoor dal)

You gotta be quick! Red lentils are little guys that cook fast. But the good news is, you can make this protein-packed, colorful, and fresh salad in under 30 minutes.

Note: Make sure you have a fine mesh strainer in your arsenal – a big old pasta colander won’t work here.

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 10 Minutes

2 cups water

¾ cup red lentils

2 stalks celery

1 tart apple (Granny Smith work well)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 green onions

1 red bell pepper

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

¼ tsp coarse salt

Cayenne pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and a couple shakes of cayenne pepper, stir and set aside.

Wash and trim the green onions and cut into fine rings, including some tender green parts. Cut the apple into slices and then into strips. Cut the red pepper into similar sized strips as the apple and thinly slice the celery stalks. Toss all the veggies in a large bowl with the lemon juice.

In a medium sauce pan, stir together the red lentils and water and bring to a gradual boil on medium to medium high heat. Don’t go anywhere because this won’t take long…. As soon as it comes to a boil, stir and reduce heat to low. Test a few – they should still be a little firm (the color will be a little darker at the center) – stir again and stand over the slowly simmering pot. In about 2 minutes, stir and test again…they should be done. Remove from heat immediately and drain well into a fine strainer. Run some cold water around the sides of the strainer, but not directly over the lentils, then toss gently, and repeat the cold water around the side thing and the toss again to release any excess water.

Transfer the lentils to the bowl with the veggies and fold together gently first, then add the dressing you made earlier. Toss gently again to mix. Let it hang out for a while to rest, toss again, and serve.

Tip 1: I prefer to remove some of the Granny Smith apple skin, but not all. Wash them well too…they can be waxy.

Tip 2: Toast some chopped walnuts or pine nuts and sprinkle on top!

Enjoy!

Lentil Salad (sabut masoor)

Lentils can be a little daunting when you’re not just using them for tasty soup. When cooking they can turn on you pretty quickly and become the consistency of baby food. Be sure to read the process instructions below before you start the recipe and I hope it helps. Once you get confident, you’ll be cooking them all the time as they make a great palette for many different flavor traditions.

An excellent source of protein, lentils are very inexpensive – you can buy them bulk or in a 1 pound cello bag for under a dollar. Ounce for ounce, lentils contain as much protein as steak and tons more fiber.

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 30 Minutes / Refrigeration Time: 2 hours

2 cups lentils

2 tsp salt

1 medium onion stuck with 2 or 3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp thyme

½ cup olive oil

1 ½ cup of finely sliced green onion

¼ finely chopped bell pepper (red or orange works nice here)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 Tbps white wine or apple cider vinegar

1 ½ tsp black pepper

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Put the lentils in a pot and add water to cover by about 1”. Add the salt, clove stabbed onion, along with the bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low and cover. It’s kinda like you’re cooking rice, but you’re going to want to check and stir them about every 5 minutes. Not a violent stir, just fold them over and quickly recover the pot. Simmer this way until the lentils are just tender, but still firm. About 30 minutes. As with beans, test a couple to make sure – just one lentil could be lying to you.

You’re going to have some liquid left over but that’s cool – drain well, remove the plugged onion (say ‘thank you’ and discard), and transfer the lentils to a large bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the olive oil and again, fold them over to mix. Let cool, but not completely, then add the rest of the ingredients and the remaining olive oil, but just half the parsley. Toss gently to mix.

Put in the refrigerator and let it rest and cool for at least an hour.

When serving, add the remaining chopped parsley and grind a little more black pepper over the top and add a little extra olive oil if needed…a squeeze of lemon here wouldn’t be bad either.

Enjoy!

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