A cold lentil salad is one of those dishes that you think you might not like, till you try it and find that you do. Yes, you really do. Especially this vegetable bonanza of a recipe which Chef Paul has created, with lots of color, texture, and a nutritional punch. He walked through the Greenmarket yesterday and was inspired. This recipe incorporates the peppers, scallions, and sugar snap peas he found there, and a ripe avocado that needed a home.
Cold Lentil Salad
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 cup green lentils (cooked, see below)
1/2 red pepper, chopped thin
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped thin
1/4 white onion, chopped thin
2 scallions, green and white parts, chopped thin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 plum tomato, chopped thin
1 ripe avocado, either sliced or cut into cubes
10-15 sugar snap peas (optional), cleaned and blanched (see below)
Juice of one lemon
4 tbs red wine vinegar
6 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper
Preparation
Cook the lentils in a large saucepan by putting 1 cup of green lentils in a pot with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes (covered) or until there is no more liquid in the pot. Set aside.
To prepare the sugar snap peas (which are optional), you first trim them by removing the tough string that runs along the inside curve. Grab the stem and pull down along the length of the snap pea. In a 2 quart pot, bring water to boil. Add snap peas and boil for 30 seconds. Drain and cool under cold water. Set aside.
In a big bowl, mix all the above ingredients. Cover and marinate in the fridge for around 2-3 hours.
Before serving, cut the avocado into cubes and mix in, or into slices and fan across the top.
Serve cold.
