Lentil Chicken Salad Food

SEXY LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Place Lentil ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to simmer then turn down to medium low. Cook for 20 minutes for firm (I like this) or 25 minutes for soft. DO NOT overcook and make it mushy!
• Drain in a colander, pick out celery etc. Rinse VERY quickly just to remove any grit coating the lentils (don't want to rinse away flavour!). Set aside.
• Place Dressing ingredients in a jar, shake well.
• Place lentils, tomato, cucumber, onion, coriander, parsley and some of the feta in a large bowl. Pour over most of the Dressing, then toss.
• Place rocket lettuce on a serving platter. Pile salad on top. Drizzle over remaining Dressing and crumble over feta. Serve! (I like serving with pita bread to stuff it in)

LENTIL CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, salsa, onions and lemon juice. Pour over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

LENTIL AND RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils. Add 2 1/2 cups of broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer gently until the lentils are just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well. Transfer the lentils to a large bowl.
• Meanwhile, bring the remaining 2 cups broth and bay leaf to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the rice and return the broth to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently over low heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes (do not stir the rice as it cooks). Remove the saucepan from the heat. Fluff the rice with a large fork. Transfer to the bowl with the lentils. Add the olives, parsley, thyme, and lemon peel. Toss the rice mixture with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil to coat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHICKEN AND LENTILS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken pieces 5 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet, and set aside.
• Place onion in the skillet, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in the carrot and garlic. Stir in the lentils and broth, and season with salt. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Return chicken to skillet. Cover, and continue cooking 20 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a little water to just moisten.
• Stir tomato sauce into the skillet. Season with rosemary and basil. Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Stir in lemon juice, and serve warm.

ONE-POT LENTIL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a non-stick wide, shallow pan, add bacon and fry briskly until lightly coloured, then lift on to a plate. Add the chicken and fry on each side until lightly brown. Set aside with the bacon. Tip onion and garlic into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato purée, then stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, stock, lentils and thyme. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the mushrooms. Add the bacon and chicken, pushing them under the liquid. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until lentils are tender and the chicken cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a non-stick wide, shallow pan, add bacon and fry briskly until lightly coloured, then lift on to a plate. Add the chicken and fry on each side until lightly brown. Set aside with the bacon. Tip onion and garlic into the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and tomato purée, then stir over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine, stock, lentils and thyme. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the mushrooms. Add the bacon and chicken, pushing them under the liquid. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until lentils are tender and the chicken cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

MARINATED LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the lentils according to the package directions. For most brown lentils, bring 3 cups of water to boil in a pot, add the lentils, then continue to boil for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Drain the lentils in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water until they are cooled.
• While the lentils are cooking, prepare the lemon garlic dressing. Use a microplane, zester, or small-holed cheese grater to remove about 1 Tbsp of the lemon's zest (the thin, yellow, outer layer of the peel). Set the zest aside. Juice the lemon and measure 1/4 cup of the juice to use for the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
• Rinse the parsley well, shake off as much water as possible, then pull the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Finely dice the red onion.
• When the lentils are cooked, cooled, and well drained, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chopped parsley, tomatoes, red onion, crumbled feta, lemon zest, and the prepared dressing. Stir to combine the ingredients and coat everything in dressing.
• Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. Always stir the salad just before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavors.

CHICKEN ON A WARM LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Cut each breast in half horizontally . You will have two thinnner slices of chicken breast that will cook much more quickly than a whole thick breast piece.
• Cook the chicken on an oiled grill plate, until browned both sides and cooked through. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
• Heat the olice oli in a medium saucepan. Cook the chopped onion, bacon and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is browned and soft.
• Add the wine to the onion/bacon mix.
• When the wine is almost all evaporated, add the chicken stock and the drained and rinsed lentils. Remove from the heat when the lentils are hot and the stock has reduced by half.
• Add the quartered tomatoes and chopped parsley. Stir to combine.
• Serve the chicken with the lentil salad and sprinle over some additional parsley leaves as garnish.