The summer lentil salad is a complete vegan cold dish, which I often prepare during the hot season. It’s quick, fresh, and substantial. The Sicilian version with Ustica lentils (slow food presidium) and swordfish or tuna is also interesting. For a Ligurian alternative, use confit tomatoes and Taggiasca olives. The Moroccan recipe with spices is also delightful.
SEASON
#dry lentils – all year
#carrots – all year
#tomatoes – from May to October
#fresh onions – from March to December
My recipes with lentils
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Fall
- Energy 235.84 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 33.32 (g) of which sugars 7.42 (g)
- Proteins 12.32 (g)
- Fat 5.46 (g) of which saturated 0.77 (g)of which unsaturated 0.39 (g)
- Fibers 8.52 (g)
- Sodium 902.24 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 225 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Lentil Salad
- 1 cup dry lentils (or 500 g of canned lentils already cooked)
- Half red onion (or white onion or a spring onion)
- 2 carrots
- 200 g cherry tomatoes (cherry or grape tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or peanut oil)
- to taste salt
You can add:
– raw vegetables: cucumbers, bell peppers, arugula, celery, marinated zucchini
– cooked vegetables: green beans, confit cherry tomatoes, boiled potatoes and/or carrots, zucchini
– capers, sweet corn, olives, sun-dried tomatoes
– aromatic herbs: dill, basil, chervil, coriander, tarragon, chives, fennel, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, savory, celery, thyme
– dried fruit (soaked and rehydrated): apricots, dates, figs, mulberries, prunes, raisins
– crushed nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios
– oil seeds: anise, cumin, fennel, sunflower, poppy, mustard, sesame, pumpkin
– flavored croutons
Lentil Salad
First, rinse the lentils under running water, although it is not necessary, it’s better to soak them in cold water for at least half an hour to make their cooking faster.
Cook the lentils in plenty of salted water (one quart, five times their weight). In a pressure cooker, they are ready in 10 minutes from the whistle, in a steel pan they cook in 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and prepare the vegetables.
Slice the onion thinly, to make it more digestible I recommend marinating it with white vinegar (wine or apple vinegar).
Cut the tomatoes into regular pieces.
Grate the carrots into julienne strips.
Once ready, drain the legumes and rinse them under cold water, then season the lentils with the oil and all the vegetables. Mix and garnish with basil and/or mint leaves.
STORAGE
The lentil salad can be stored in the refrigerator, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
