Cook's Hideout: French Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese

March 11, 2013

French Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese

Blogging Marathon #26: Week 2/ Day 2
Theme: Salads & Soups
Dish: Lentil Based - French (Puy) Lentil Salad
Today's salad has "Lentil" as the star ingredient and one of my favorite lentils in salads happens to be French Lentils aka Puy lentils. These lentils look very similar to whole masoor dal, but are greenish with spots. They don't fall apart and still have a good bite when cooked which is perfect for Salads. 
Today's salad is inspired from a recipe that I received in my mailbox from Everyday Food. Recipe was actually for roasted vegetable salad with french lentils, but what caught my attention was the use of goat cheese. I've tasted goat cheese a few times, but never bought it myself. So I picked a small log of goat cheese on my recent grocery shopping and make this hearty & delicious salad. Goat cheese is creamy and has a tart taste to it.
I kept the dressing very simple with just red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard and some agave for sweetness. 

Ingredients:
For the Salad:
French Lentils (Puy Lentils) - ½cup
Garlic - 2 clove, finely minced
Cucumber - ¼cup, chopped
Tomato - 1 small, seeds removed and diced
Mixed Greens - 2cups
Sliced Almonds - 3tbsp, toasted
Goat cheese - 1oz. crumbled

For the Dressing:
Red wine vinegar - 3tbsp
Dijon Mustard - 1tsp
Agave Nectar or Honey - 1tbsp (or as per taste)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3-4tbsp
Salt and Pepper - as per taste

Method:
  • Cook the Lentils: Add 2cups water to the lentils along with the minced garlic. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered until the lentils are cooked through and the water is absorbed, about 25-30 minutes.
  • Make the Dressing: Whisk vinegar, mustard and agave. Then slowly stream in olive oil, whisking continuously, to form a thick uniform dressing. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Make the Salad: Combine all the ingredients, top with the lentils, goat cheese and drizzle with the dressing. Enjoy!!
Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 26.
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19 comments:

  1. Yumm this Salad is with goat cheese, almonds hmmmm... I can eat it as main course.

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  2. The colours taht this salad has is very inviting.

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  3. what a hearty looking bowl, satisfying am sure

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  4. Havent tried my hands in lentil salads, this salad looks absolutely nutritious and highly inviting.

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  5. I should change my thoughts about salad I guess after seeing so many tempting salad recipes.. Never fond of them and just started to try a few. Should try this too.. :)

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  6. any salad recipe is welcome...my son loves salads and I have to make new ones to feed him:))book marked!

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  7. Nice and healthy Pavani, the final picture is not loading..

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  8. Such a healthy salad! Love your presentation :)

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  9. Nice color to the salad and with all those delicious ingredients, it must have been a very tasty meal..

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  10. Haven't tried French lentil, good one.

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  11. Love any type of salad!!!!Looks very nice Pavani!

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  12. Nice colourful salad. French lentils are not available here at my place. So need to try a substitution...

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  13. so healthy - I find goat cheese too tart but I would definitely do this salad with some fresh mozzarella!

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  14. Colorful and delicious salad

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  15. Lentils with goat cheese makes awonderful combination colorful and very refreshing one.

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  16. love the flavor or goat cheese in salads!! looks very delicious
    Sowmya
    Ongoing Event - HITS - Diabetic Friendly
    Ongoing Event + Giveaway - Italian Dishes

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  17. Me too planning something with lentils for this week, this bowl looks very hearty!!!!

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