You know what happens to me all the time? I make a lovely meal, let my love P. try it, culinary friends try it – everybody loves it, but when I don’t post it straight away then it’s almost too late and it disappears in the back of our head as a lovely memory and slowly fades away. Not with this one! Thanks to my friend U. who kept on reminding me. So let me dedicate this lovely lentil salad to you and your gorgeous wife and beautiful baby girl in return ❤
I made this salad when my friend was still patiently in hospital, waiting for the baby to come and on the day I pre celebrated my 34th birthday with my friends. Just out of curiosity I let my friend U. try it and he was as blown away as P. and me. It’s a surprising mix of flavors, especially due to the roasted beetroots and the gorgeous mix of spices in the dressing. But as usual this dish is not only yummy but also boasting of health benefits! The lentils are little folic acid warriors (yes, just as well as the Chickpea Crêpes my previous blog post) and the beetroots are not only great for boosting stamina and making muscles work harder, they also contain iron, magnesium, potassium, magnesium as well as vitamins A, B6 and C, and – again! – folic acid. So, let’s get started!
What you need….
(Recipe inspired and adapted from one of my favorite blogs MyNewRoots)
1 small pack of puy lentils, washed and cooked tender according to instructions
3-4 beetroots, washed & peeled
3 celery stalks
Best quality salt (I used Himalayan)
Coconut oil (for roasting the veg)
2-3 pinches of ground cumin and coriander
A handful of fresh cilantro
For the dressing:
Best quality olive oil
Apple cider vinegar
Dijon mustard
Spices: pinch of cinnamon, pinch of curcuma, tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
Raw Agave sirup
Salt
Optional: goat cheese, crumbled
What to do….
Start with roasting the the beetroots and celery stalks as this step takes the longest. Wash, chop in chunky pieces, spread on a tray, drizzle with coconut oil, salt and the spices and roast them in the oven for about 45min at 190°C.
In the meantime cook puy lentils according to instructions, just watch out that they keep a nice bite. Drain and let them cool off. Now mix the ingredients into a nice dressing. Start with small amounts and keep playing until the mix is perfect to your taste (some like it hotter, so add more cayenne and mustard, others sweeter and so on – trust your taste buds 🙂
As soon as the veg is ready, take it out of the oven and let it get cooled off. Chop up cilantro roughly and finally mix everything together carefully so the lentils don’t get squashed. Also lovely when ingredients are still a bit warm!
For a non vegan version, this salad is also amazing with some crumbled goat cheese on top.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did and once again, tons of love and all the best to baby Sienna and to great friendship ❤
Your support means a lot to me…
N xxx
Nadisunshine 