Here's an outline for a lentil salad I make a lot.
My apologies to those of you who want exact amounts, I tend to cook by guess and instinct rather than recipe, so the amounts listed are guestimates. Overall, you're aiming for a balance of tangy, savory, salty, crunchy, citrusy deliciousness.
Cook 1 cup lentils in about 3 cups water. (I like to use the French le Puy type lentils, since they hold together very well, even once they are tender.)
Cook 4 slices bacon til crisp, drain and crumble. Or, substitute small bits of ham or sausage. Or, leave meat out completely if you're feeding vegetarians.
Cut peel and pith off of one large or two small naval oranges. Cut between membranes to free orange sections. Cut membrane-free orange sections into bite-size pieces. Squeeze the membrane over a cup to collect as much juice as you can.
Peel and chop some or all of the following: carrot (you’ll want about 3/4 cup), red onion or scallion or chives (about 1/3 cup), red bell pepper (about ˝ cup), red or yellow cherry tomato (cut in half, probably not quite a cup), chopped tomato (again, not quite a cup) or plump, soft sundried tomato (probably not more than 1/4 cup, they can easily overwhelm things).
Drain lentils, and mix with orange chunks and whatever add-ins you've prepped. While still warm, toss with a dressing composed of:
˝ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. olive or vegetable oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
(no salt yet)
Depending on how many veggies you added, you may need more dressing.
Just before serving, mix in ˝ cup roasted, chopped pecans (or other nut of choice), ˝ cup feta or blue cheese crumbles, and ˝ cup minced parsley. Salt to taste at this point, not before, because the cheese will add a fair amount of salt.
