Well, I’ve been gone from this space longer than expected (and without warning, I know). I’ve just returned from a trip to southern Africa (amazing) which was preceded by a last-minute work trip to the midwest (not amazing). For the past 10 days, I’ve been lucky enough to explore Johannesburg, Cape Town, and both coastal and desert Namibia, and it would not be an overstatement to say it was the trip of a lifetime. In the near-ish future, I’ll have all of this on the travel section for your perusal, but in the meantime, just believe that I have been eating like an absolute king (looking at you, Cape Town) and have discovered the best oysters on earth (hello, Swakopmund). But after trips like this, when I finally resign myself to getting back on a plane to go home, I’m always inspired to get back into my own kitchen, and that’s just what I intend to do.
Somehow I left New York at the end of summer and arrived in Africa at the end of winter, and both were the same temperature – but the eating was different. I left home inhaling the last of the peaches and summer squash, and arrived in Africa to find butternut squash, which feels like a great transition into all of the root vegetables I’m getting ready to eat as soon as the weather turns. But until the sweaters come back out of storage, I’m focused on post-vacation eating, which means meals that consist of a single course (so spoiled!) and a lot of vegetables. It’s going to be awhile before I can face another tasting menu.
If I had to identify the opposite of a fabulous, haute cuisine meal it might be lentil salad. With no offense meant to the humble lentil, it’s hard for me to get excited about a dish made of slightly overcooked, mealy, brown dots. The rest of my family somehow loves lentils, so I’ve been eating them unenthusiastically forever, until I came across this game-changing recipe for lentil salad from David Lebovitz. Since that discovery, I’ve made this salad again and again, and it’s become a staple in my work lunch rotation.
I’ll take it a step further and say that these lentils are so tasty that I have trouble not eating them out of the bowl like candy once the salad is ready. And while I’m not ruling out that there could be some magic involved, I think the trick to this dish is threefold: 1) French lentils, not the brown ones that tend to lose their shape, 2) the perfect salad dressing (shallot-forward, of course), and 3) goat cheese, obviously.
So if you’re looking for a reset in your eating – weaning yourself off of 7-course meals like me – or if you’re just looking for some new ideas for what to eat for lunch, this lentil salad will not let you down. I dare you to not love it.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (270g) French green lentils (preferably from Le Puy)
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
- 1 small red onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 rib celery, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup (60ml) olive oil, or half walnut oil and half olive oil
- 1 small shallot, peeled and minced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup (30g) finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup (100g) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (130g) crumbled fresh or slightly aged goat cheese or feta cheese
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils and put them in a saucepan with plenty of lightly salted water, the bay leaf, and the thyme. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the finely diced vegetables and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the lentils are tender; be careful not to overcook them.
- While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing. Mix the vinegar, salt, mustard, oil, and shallot in a large bowl.
- Drain the lentils well and mix them into the dressing while still warm, stirring to coat the lentils. Remove the bay leaf and thyme and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
- Add a few grinds of black pepper and mix in the parsley, chopped nuts, and goat cheese. Taste, and add additional salt, if desired. I serve the salad at room temperature or warm. If served warm, omit the goat cheese, or crumble it on top at the last minute, so it doesn’t melt—but instead, slightly softens. The salad can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before serving; it may need to be re-seasoned once refrigerated.
Notes
From My Paris Kitchen
