Lentil Salad With Roasted Vegetables

By Melissa Clark

Updated Oct. 17, 2023

Lentil Salad With Roasted Vegetables
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Rating
5(1,832)
Comments
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This lentil salad looks and tastes bright, thanks to a combination of tangerine juice, sherry vinegar and colorful caramelized roasted root vegetables. It works either as a main course, served with good bread and butter, or as side dish with roasted meat or fish. For the maximum visual impact, use both golden and red beets. Vegetarians can feel free to leave out the bacon. Leftovers will keep for at least five days, though try to pack it up without the radicchio, which gets soggy in the fridge.

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

    For the Lentil Salad

    • 1small whole acorn squash, peeled if desired, halved, seeded and diced into ½-inch pieces
    • 2medium carrots, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
    • 1medium celeriac, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
    • 3small beets, peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
    • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • ½teaspoon salt
    • 2sprigs thyme
    • 1sprig rosemary, cut in half
    • 4slices (4 ounces) bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
    • 2cups brown or green lentils
    • 2garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
    • 1bay leaf
    • 1½teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
    • ½teaspoon black pepper

    For the Sherry Vinaigrette

    • ¼cup sherry vinegar, more to taste
    • 2teaspoons Dijon mustard
    • ½teaspoon salt
    • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed

    For Serving

    • 2heads radicchio, sliced
    • 2scallions, thinly sliced (whites and greens)
    • Parsley, roughly chopped, for garnish
    • Flaky sea salt, to taste
    • Cracked black pepper, to taste
    • 1tangerine, halved and seeded
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

288 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 354 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place vegetables in one layer on one or two large rimmed baking pans, toss with olive oil and salt. Place thyme and rosemary on top of vegetables, cover pans with foil and roast for 25 minutes. Remove foil, stir in bacon and bake for 30 to 40 minutes longer, until vegetables are tender and golden all over.

  2. Step 2

    In a large pot, combine lentils, 6 cups water, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until lentils are tender.

  3. Step 3

    In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard and salt. Then whisk in olive oil.

  4. Step 4

    Drain lentils and discard bay leaf; keep or discard garlic as you like. Toss lentils with half of the sherry vinaigrette while still warm. Add more salt, olive oil and vinegar as needed.

  5. Step 5

    Toss radicchio with enough of remaining vinaigrette to lightly coat it and arrange it on a platter. Combine lentils and roasted vegetables, adding more of the vinaigrette to taste; spoon mixture on top of radicchio. Garnish with scallions, parsley, sea salt and black pepper. Squeeze tangerine juice over the lentils and drizzle with more olive oil if needed.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,832 user ratings
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Comments

Robin

I made half of the lentils but a full recipe of the vegetables and was pleased with the proportion. Doubled the dressing to have leftovers. Next time would use balsamic. Sherry vinegar seemed too muddy with the lentils. I used French lentils and would recommend. Also used Meyer lemons and blood oranges instead of the tangerine. I would recommend using more citrus. A next time for me is to add some zest to the lentil salad mix. Very satisfying as a main course.

Me

No need to peel a squash. Once roasted, the peels of acorn, butternut and similar winter squashes are soft and delicious (think of apple peels).

Jeanie Cass

Also skipped the bacon. Have made it twice, once with sherry vinegar, once with balsamic vinegar. I prefer the balsamic. Tangerine makes the flavors pop! A hit with my crowd!

KC

This made way too many lentils and produced not enough dressing but very tasty. I used sweet potatoes and beets. Based on reviews, I just used the balsamic vinegar instead of sherry. For the salad portion, I had arugula and beet greens which worked well. I should have checked the cooking time on the lentil package since mine were a little mushy from following the recipe.

Kate

I made the recipe as written. Next time I will not put tin foil over the vegetables as they were more steamed than roasted. I let them cook more without the foil then broiled for a couple of minutes.

Ashley

I added smoked paprika and omitted bacon. This really benefits from a little feta and some olives if you're omitting the bacon. I tried it this way the next day with the cold leftovers and it the salty creaminess of the cheese and the meaty bites of olive greatly improved this dish.

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