by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
Serves 4
Total Time
20 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Yield
Serves 4
summary
This lovely French lentil and carrot salad is vegan, simple to make and hearty enough to be an impressive main dish. French lentils are gently simmered with aromatics, finished with a classic, flavorful vinaigrette, and topped with a pile of carrot ribbons. Serve this salad on its own with a warm baguette or use it as an accompaniment to roast chicken.
ingredients
- ¾ cup French brown lentils
- ½ yellow onion, cut in half
- 1 celery stalk, cut in 3 pieces
- 3 large carrots, peeled
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
directions
- Place the lentils, onion and celery with 2½ cups of water in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook until the lentils are al dente, about 20 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, make the dressing by stirring together the shallot, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
- Drain the lentils, discarding the celery and onion, and transfer to a mixing bowl. While the lentils are still warm, add all but 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss well. Spread the lentils on a serving platter.
- Use a Y-shaped peeler to shave the carrots into ribbons. Toss the carrot ribbons with the remaining vinaigrette and pile high on top of the lentils. Garnish with parsley and serve at once.
notes
Lentils are cooked with aromatics—celery and onion—to add flavor.
Dress the lentils while warm in order for them to absorb the flavorful dressing.
Be careful not to overcook lentils, which will turn mushy. Drain them while they are al dente as residual heat from the cooking liquid will continue to cook them.
If you don’t have a Y-shaped peeler, a vegetable peeler will give you much thinner carrot ribbons but will still do the trick!
You can also use mint, basil or tarragon in this recipe.
This dish would be delicious dotted with feta or goat cheese.
