Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

 

A Perfect Make-Ahead Lunch Salad

Looking for a make-ahead lunch for your lunchbox this week? Want something easy, healthy and filling? Look no further than this lentil salad, full of crisp and colorful bell pepper and onions, with nutty toasted walnuts and fragrant herbs. A sweet, tangy dressing pulls it all together.

I adore grain and legume salads. Lentils make an especially good base for a lunch salad, though -- even better than couscous or wheatberries. Lentils are high in protein and even more filling than those grains. If you want to add a few slices of roast chicken to make it even heartier, be my guest.

This salad depends on getting a couple of ingredients right. First, the lentils. It's important to use lentils that won't fall apart into mush as they are cooked. French green lentils hold their shape very well, and they would be lovely in this salad. You can also use Umbrian lentils, as I did here, as they have a very nice texture.

Also, don't skip the pomegranate molasses in the dressing; it's the secret ingredient that pulls this all together -- a little sweet, a little tangy and very rich. Be sure not to use molasses with sugar added.

This salad will keep very well in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

Serves 6 to 8.

1 pound (2 to 2 1/4 cups) dry Umbrian or green French lentils

4 cups chicken broth (optional)

1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 large yellow onion

3 bell peppers (ideally a mix of orange, yellow and red)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1 cup flat parsley leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1 lemon, juiced and zested

1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, optional

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (make sure it is pure pomegranate molasses with no added sugar)

2 teaspoons flaky or kosher salt, or more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the lentils well and place them in a saucepan. Add the chicken broth, if using, or simply cover them with about 4 cups of water. Salt lightly. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and cover the pot, and cook the lentils for about 25 to 30 minutes. Test them after 20 minutes; cooking time will vary according to freshness and age of the lentils. You should turn off the heat when the lentils are toothsome and tender but not yet mushy or falling apart. When the lentils are done cooking, spread them out on a baking sheet to cool.

Meanwhile, finely chop the sun-dried tomatoes and place them in a heatsafe container. Pour about 1/2 cup of boiling water over the tomatoes and set them aside to steep.

Dice the onion, and clean out the bell peppers and dice them as well. Finely mince the garlic. Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the onion is just beginning to be translucent, but the peppers have not yet lost their snap or color.

Turn off the heat and mix the onion mixture with the lentils in a large bowl. Drain the tomatoes (reserve about 1/4 cup of the steeping liquid) and stir them in, as well as the toasted walnuts, chopped parsley and mint, and the lemon zest. Grate about 1 ounce of the Parmesan cheese (if using) and stir this in as well.

In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, the 1/4 cup of steeping liquid from the sun-dried tomatoes, the lemon juice and the pomegranate molasses. Toss this dressing with the lentils. Taste for seasoning, and stir in salt and pepper.

Spread the lentils on a serving plate or in a bowl, and use a vegetable peeler to shave the remaining Parmesan into flakes. Sprinkle these over top and serve.

 

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Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs

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