Crunchy Lentil Salad Food

LENTIL AND KALE SALAD

Steps:

• Add the kale and shallots to a large bowl and set aside.
• Whisk together the vinegar, honey and mustard. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the kale and shallots and toss and stir roughly with tongs, about 3 minutes. You want to gently bruise the leaves of the kale. Once the kale looks soft, toss in the lentils, feta cheese and cranberries. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate 1 hour before serving.

MARINATED LENTILS WITH CRUNCHY VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Cook onion, bay leaves, and lentils in a large saucepan of simmering salted water until lentils are tender but still firm, 15-20 minutes. Drain; discard onion and bay leaves and transfer lentils to a medium bowl.
• Heat oil in a small skillet over medium. Cook coriander seeds and cumin seeds, swirling skillet, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spice mixture and vinegar to lentils, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• Just before serving, top lentils with radishes, scallions, herbs, and celery; season with salt and pepper.
• Do Ahead
• Lentils (without herbs and vegetables) can be marinated 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

CRUNCH'S LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Bring water and lentils to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until lentils are almost tender, about 15 minutes; add bulgur and salt. Cover saucepan and remove from heat; set aside until bulgur is tender and water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until until tender and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and red bell pepper; cook and stir until red bell pepper is tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Combine bulgur-lentil mixture and vegetable mixture in a bowl; add balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat.

CRUNCHY LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Combine lentils, water and bay leaf in saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes (or until lentils are tender but crunchy). Drain thoroughly.
• Mix lentils with minced celery, carrot, onion and parsley. NOTE: This salad is much better if you make sure all vegetables are finely diced; the flavors blend much better than if you've used a regular-to-large dice.
• Mix the dressing: Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour over lentils and toss.
• You can serve this right away, but the flavors blend beautifully if you refrigerate for a day or two. Serve at room temperature.

CRUNCHY SPROUTED LENTIL WALNUT SALAD (RAW / LIVE FOOD)

Steps:

• Place sprouted lentils in large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• In a food processor, chop walnuts very small, but do not reduce to a powder. If chopping by hand, you want the walnut pieces to be similar in size to the lentils. Put walnuts in with lentils.
• In a food processor, chop the carrots. If processing by hand, you can also shred on a box grater. Put carrots in with lentils and walnuts.
• Next comes the spinach. Either pulse in food processor or mince with a knife. Put in with carrots, lentils and walnuts. Mix to combine thoroughly.
• For the dressing, shake all the dressing ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid until thoroughly mixed or use the bowl and whisk method. (if using the mayo, the bowl and whisk is much better suited).
• Drizzle the dressing over the salad ingredients and combine until thoroughly mixed. We wanted just a little dressing to give a "pop" of flavor. If you like more dressing on your salads, feel free to double the dressing amount. (When we make this with the mayo, we then use this as a sandwich filling).

CRUNCHY LENTIL WALNUT SALAD

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils and put them in a saucepan with plenty of lightly salted water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 20 - 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still have a good crunch/bite to them. Be careful to not overcook them.
• While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing. Mix the vinegar, mustard, oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the dressing as you like to your taste preferences.
• Drain the lentils well and mix them into the dressing while still warm, stirring to cook the lentils. Remove the bay leaf and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
• Add in the walnuts and green onion. Taste, and add additional salt, if desired. I serve the salad at room temperature or warm. 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.