Lentil & beetroot salad with feta & rocket
Filling lunch for two elevated by a couple of ingredients typical of Middle Eastern cuisines.
This salad is an excellent and filling lunch for two, using ingredients like pomegranate molasses and and allspice to elevate the earthy flavours of beetroot and lentils.
I like a generous slice of buttered sourdough bread alongside, but any bread you like will work well.
A couple of tips before you cook
Beetroots: I boil them, but feel free to bake the beets instead for a more intense flavour. Simply place them on a generous handful of coarse salt on a baking tray and bake at 220°C (430°F) until completely soft. It’ll take a little longer – an hour or two, depending on the size of the beetroots.
Also, feel free to use any colour beetroot you like. In Turkey, the regular dark purple variety is usually all we’ve got to work with, so that’s what I’ve used.
Lentils: I prefer beluga lentils here. They keep their shape really well after cooking and have a nice flavour and texture for salads. Puy lentils are similar and will also work wonderfully. If all you’ve got is regular brown or green lentils, don’t worry – they’ll make for a very good salad, too. But make sure not to forget to add the olive oil after draining the lentils, lest the surface of the lentils will dry out and look unappetising (particularly true for green lentils).
Almonds: If you’ve already got roasted salted almonds, they’re excellent for use in this recipe and will save you having to roast almonds separately. Plain or salted work equally well, in my view.
The dressing: Make sure the dressing is properly emulsified. That is, the oil has completely mixed and become one with the other dressing ingredients. This’ll help the it stick to the beets and lentils rather than dribble down to the bottom of the plate. A steadfast whisk will do the trick, or you can simply put all the ingredients in a (clean) jam jar and shake it up like a bartender.
Make ahead & storage
You can make the beetroots and lentils ahead. Keep refrigerated in a sealed jar for up to 24 hours. I’d mix it with the dressing on the day, but you can store them mixed, too. Make sure to get your ingredients back to room temperature before serving.
The almonds can also be made a day ahead, and kept in a jar at room temperature.
Any leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge, but I’d keep the various items separately, if you can, or the leaves will wilt, the almonds soften and the cheese discolour.
Afiyet olsun!