May 1, 2009 | Salads, Vegetables
How do you know it’s spring around my house? Well, aside from the gorgeous plum tree in bloom in my front yard (which by the way produced the sweetest little dark purple plums that I ate straight from the tree last year), I start eating lighter. I run out of potatoes from the winter share of my farm just about the time I can’t stand to see another one of them, and my thoughts naturally turn to lighter fare with the warmer days. I also found a Colorado grown tomato in the grocery store this week – surely from a greenhouse, but local and delicious still – so I set about making something that feels spring-like.
I had some leftover lentils from a dinner I hosted on Saturday night, and this had to be the simplest, but tastiest, salad I developed in a long time. Lentils with some tomato, red pepper, green onions and a light dressing – healthy, quick and light!
Lentil Salad
Serves 41 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, diced small
1 cup lentils, green or brown
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced small
1 large red bell pepper, diced small
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 tablespoon rosemary, minced fine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to tasteHeat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat and add onion. Cook until just translucent and then add lentils. Add water and cook according to package directions. Drain and cool. Combine lentils with tomatoes, pepper, onions, rosemary, olive oil, and vinegars. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust oil or vinegar as desired. Serve cold or at room temperature.
I love lentils. I don’t eat them enough. Thanks for the reminder. Love this salad!
Hi, I saved your recipe a while ago when you posted it on TasteSpotting. We had it for lunch today, and I just wanted to tell you that we liked it very much. I’ve only really ever had lentils in soups and stews, but with summer approaching, a salad makes a great option. Thanks for the inspiration!