Lentil Salad with Green Grapes, Almonds, Red Peppers, and a Lemon Cumin Vinaigrette

feta cheese

🥗Healthier: tofu

💰Cheaper: cottage cheese

Tofu provides a dairy-free option while cottage cheese is less expensive.

walnuts

🥗Healthier: pumpkin seeds

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Pumpkin seeds offer healthy fats, while sunflower seeds are budget-friendly.

Pick through the Beluga lentils to remove any debris or foreign objects.

Rinse the lentils under cold water.

Add the lentils to a pot with a bay leaf and thyme, covering with enough water.

Bring the lentils to a boil, then simmer for about 30-35 minutes until tender.

Add a little salt to the lentils, mix, and let sit for a minute or two before straining.

Rinse the lentils under cold running water to remove debris and prevent discoloration.

Dice the preserved lemon and add it to the lentils, removing any seeds and the inner fruit.

Add toasted almonds, green onion tops, grated carrot, and diced roasted red pepper to the lentils.

Top the mixture with halved green grapes and set aside.

Toast whole cumin seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, being careful not to burn them.

Add toasted cumin seeds, one peeled garlic clove, white parts of the green onion, flat leaf parsley, cilantro leaves, sweet paprika, and a touch of salt to a blender.

Process the mixture slightly before adding lemon juice and then olive oil, blending until chunky.

Add 3/4 of the Chermoula dressing to the salad mixture and leave some for decoration.

Gently toss the salad to mix everything together.

Garnish the salad with extra Chermoula dressing and cilantro sprigs.

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens