Food: Lentil As Anything

I’m doing a little method writing here…eating the salad I’ve just photographed and am now writing about it. Yum. And I promise it’s DELICIOUS. This carrot, walnut and lentil salad is one of the best ever ‘take to work’ lunches; it’s easy to make, happy to travel and loves hanging out in the fridge for a while. Did I mention the health factor? All those lentils, raw carrots and beautiful walnuts? All good.

The below recipe is a pretty simple blueprint so please chop and change the ingredients according to what you fancy and have in the fridge. Some crumbled feta or goat’s cheese would jazz it up nicely for a sunny Spring picnic as would some steamed spring beans or asparagus spears.

Carrot, walnut and lentil salad with a tangy dressing

1 1/2 cup French green lentils
1 carrot, finely diced
1 cup walnuts, toasted
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 handful parsley, chopped
1 handful mint, chopped

Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
 (I am possibly a little heavy-handed with the Dijon, just because it’s my favourite dressing thing so feel free to knock it back to 1 tbsp if you are a little less enthusiastic about this ingredient!)
salt and pepper

Rinse the lentils and drain, place in a large saucepan and cover with water so it comes about 3cm over the lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a jar. Shake vigorously to combine. Check towards the end of the lentils cooking to make sure they aren’t turning to mush – you want them to be firm and ‘al dente’. Drain and set aside. Once the lentils have cooled, add to the remaining ingredients, toss through the dressing and mix well.