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Lentil Salad

By Mark Bittman

Lentil Salad
Sam Kaplan for The New York Times
Total Time
About 10 minutes
Rating
4(328)
Comments
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Grab-and-go offerings of picnicky food are almost universally mediocre and exasperatingly expensive. Resist the temptation to outsource and make your own. This recipe is built to last. You can make it a day or two ahead of time, or leave it out on the counter if you're going to eat this salad within a few hours of making it.

Featured in: The Best Picnics Are Made at Home

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Ingredients

  • French green lentils
  • tomatoes
  • olives
  • capers and feta
  • olive oil
  • red-wine vinegar
  • Dijon mustard,
  • minced shallots
  • chopped tarragon.
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cook some French green lentils.

  2. Step 2

    While they’re still warm, combine with tomatoes, olives, capers and feta.

  3. Step 3

    Toss with a vinaigrette made with olive oil, red-wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced shallots and chopped tarragon.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
328 user ratings
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Comments

allison

excellent version of an old favorite of mine. I used french or black lentils as I love the way they hold up and are al dente. The addition of feta, olive, caper and tarragon was a swing from my usual version which I very much enjoyed the new flavors. Thank you. I didnt have tomatoes, added red pepper and carrots which add a nice contrast crunch and flavor.

Jane

For those needing more info, for the 2 of us with leftovers, I used 1 cup of lentils, boiled and simmered in 4 cups of salted water for 30 minutes. Immediately after cooking and draining lentils, I added 1/4 cup shallot/garlic mustard vinaigrette, and when it cooled, a generous handful of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup chopped olives, 1 tbsp capers, 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon and chopped feta to taste.

Laura E. Adkins

Delicious and easy. I subbed out the capers, tarragon and feta for chevré and yellow cherry tomatoes, and replaced the red wine vinegar with unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Just as good cold as hot.

CC

I love this recipe and I wish more recipes were written in the same style

laurelle

I discovered that soaking, then sprouting the lentils for a day or two, and then just barely cooking them al dente, makes a far more enjoyable texture for salad. Just say no to mushy lentils!

Ann

I use balsamic vinaigrette as I usually have that already in the fridge. It gives it a nice “earthy” flavor. Yes, a non-recipe recipe.

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