I almost did not get this recipe out to you in time, because it is decidedly a winter dish (what with the lentils and root vegetables), but then yet another nor-easter came roaring into town on the first day of spring and suddenly there were no rules anymore and nothing made sense, and that’s how we got here, looking at root vegetables on March 21.
I think my future self will look back on the winter of 2017-2018 as the one in which I created a record number of lentil salads- more, in fact, than I’d ever made in my life up until that point. Is that something that happens with age- every year those lentils seem a little less boring, and their practical side all the more endearing? I can’t think of any other explanation for the iterations of lentil dishes I’ve steadily worked my way through (and the number of different jars of lentils living on my shelves at the moment). Puy lentils, good ol’ brown lentils and every shade of dal under the moon, I’ve got them all, and they’re just 45 minutes away from becoming a salad at any given time.
One thing I’d like you to know is that I definitely do not post everything I make on this blog, and for many reasons. Sometimes my kitchen handiwork results in real, inedible disaster. Sometimes I create something that is fine at best, passable and innocuous for my dinner table but certainly not something I’d want you going out of your way to make. And then sometimes I make something truly great, but it still might not end posted here because it’s too much like something I’ve already shared, and you don’t need two similar recipes for, say, oatmeal raisin cookies. This background is to say that as the zillionth lentil salad this year, I put this one through a rigorous test, and I decided it was unique enough to warrant its own place on the blog.
It’s a hearty one, this salad, and a real cultural mash-up with a tzatziki-like sauce to drizzle across the top to add the acid you’d usually get from a splash of vinegar. You need that bit of zing to cut through the richness of the root vegetables. And the coconut- the coconut! What a genius addition to the mix- it’s very subtle but, especially combined with the cilantro, adds just a hint of something tropical to your humble parsnips, carrots and lentils.
And with that, my friends, we say goodbye to winter and hello to spring.
Ingredients
- 1 cup French green lentils, picked over
- Fine Himalayan pink salt or sea salt
- Pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs. medium multicolored carrots, cut on a bias into 2-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 lbs. medium parsnips, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup chopped mint, plus torn leaves for garnish
- 3/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat until just tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, add a generous pinch of salt and let stand for 5 minutes; drain. Spread the lentils on a rimmed baking sheet and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots and parsnips with the cumin, coriander, chile powder and 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables until tender and browned in spots, 20 to 25 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the lentils with the warm roasted vegetables, the lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Fold in the chopped mint and cilantro and season the salad with salt and pepper. Transfer to a platter and garnish with mint and cilantro leaves.
- In a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the warm lentil salad.
Notes
https://www.thekitchenchronicles.com/2018/03/21/warm-lentil-and-root-vegetable-salad-with-coconut-tzatziki/
