It’s almost the end of asparagus season; we’re trying to get as much as we can before it goes away for another year. Having said that, we’ve had so much that we also don’t want to overdue it – so asparagus has transitioned from being the featured ingredient of our dinner to an accent.
This salad is eaten hot or cold and stores well in the fridge (I think it actually improves with time as the olive oil and acids have a chance to work their magic). The acid also helps brown or green lentils stay crisp so this salad shouldn’t go to much on you!
Spring Lentil Salad Recipe – Ingredients
- 1 Cup green or brown lentils
- 2 cups stock (or 2 cups water, 1 onion cut in half, 1 whole carrot and 3 cloves of garlic)
- 1 cup stewed tomatoes (with juice).
- 6-12 asparagus stalks, cut into discs (I save the tips for another dish)
- 1 tablespoon lemon (optional)
- 1-4 green onions (you may skip the bulbs if you prefer)
- 1 tablespoon fat (lard, suet, coconut oil, non-gmo vegetable oil)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Spring Lentil Salad Recipe – Ingredients
- Rinse lentils well.
- Melt the 1 tablespoon of fat on medium-high heat (use a pot for which you have a lid). Once it’s melted, cook the lentils for 4 minutes (they shouldn’t change color).
- Cover lentils with stock (or water, onion, carrot and garlic which you will discard once cooking is complete). and bring to a slow simmer. Cooking is complete when lentils are no longer crunchy (though green and brown lentils will generally remain a little firm).
- Using a butter knife, dice the tomatoes in the jar. Pour the remaining liquid into the lentil pot.
- Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil to blanch the asparagus in. Cook for 12 seconds and place in ice bath or super cold water to stop them from cooking. Toss asparagus in a small bit of lemon if desired.
- When lentils complete cooking, strain completely. Allow them to cool (although you can eat this warm if you’d rather).
- Combine all remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning and acidity. Add more vinegar, salt and/or pepper as needed.
What would you add to this salad?