Roast Carrot and Lentil Salad
The lentils get dressed while they are still warm, which is the only step in this that changes the result.
Cold lentils do not take dressing. They sit in it. Warm lentils absorb it, and the difference between the two versions of this salad is entirely that timing.
It travels well, it is better on the second day, and it is one of the few salads that does not go limp in a lunchbox.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 lb | carrots, halved lengthways |
| 1 cup | green or brown lentils, rinsed |
| 3 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 tbsp | red wine vinegar |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 | small red onion, sliced very thin |
| 1 handful | parsley, chopped |
| — | salt and pepper |
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss the carrots with one tablespoon of the oil and the cumin, and roast thirty minutes, turning once.
- Meanwhile simmer the lentils in plenty of unsalted water for twenty to twenty-five minutes, until tender but not collapsing.
- Drain them and, while they are still steaming, stir through the remaining oil, the vinegar, salt and pepper.
- Soak the sliced onion in cold water for ten minutes and drain. This takes the harshness out without cooking it.
- Fold the carrots, onion and parsley through the lentils.
- Taste for salt when it has cooled a little. Warm food always tastes saltier than it is.
Notes
- Salting the lentil water makes the skins tough. Salt goes in with the dressing instead.
- Red lentils are the wrong lentil here — they have no skin and turn to soup.
- It keeps four days and the onion mellows the whole time.
Questions
Tinned lentils?
They work. Warm them in a pan for a minute first so they still take the dressing.
Can I add cheese?
Feta or goat cheese, crumbled in at the end. It stops being a salad that keeps four days and becomes one that keeps two.
Why soak the onion?
It pulls out the sulphur compounds that make raw onion aggressive. Ten minutes is enough and the crunch stays.