Update and Redux: C – A dish with pine nuts seems really festive. Make this arugula lentil salad with pine nuts to celebrate the holidays in a healthy and tasty way.
C – My husband is tired of lentils.
We loved lentils for a while. Those lentil patties were a staple and the go-to meal every week for months. Then the dreaded day came when I clicked the button to order more lentils. Amazon had a really good price on them. It figured if we kept on going the way we were going with lentils, we needed to order another batch.
A three pack. It was a sad day. I told my husband about the order, and he said he was getting tired of lentils. All I could think was NOOOOOOOOO!
Shoot! I couldn’t cancel the order. The doorbell rang just as I mentioned it. Darn same day delivery (I hope to never say that again). Oh, well. Into my stock pile it goes.
I was tired of them, too. I figured maybe I was just tired of using them in the lentil patties and needed to change it up a little.
I had three pounds of dried lentils and needed to figure out what to do. I started to make soups, put them in chili (we didn’t quite like them in chili), and continued making those lentil patties occasionally. I managed to use two pounds somehow. That last pound was crying out to be used.
Lentils can be bland and really one dimensional after a while. I needed to have more than lentils in my lentil dishes. I needed different textures and as well as lots of different flavors to make lentils not have such a bean flavor and texture. Adding more ingredients to the one dimensional lentils can help make eating lentils satisfying. This salad is a good saving grace for how to add more lentils into meals.
| Lentil Week 2016: Arugula Lentil Salad with Pine Nuts |
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup leeks, white and light green part only, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped finely, divided
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ½ cup fennel, chopped
- 1 jus cube, (recipe link below)
- A pinch of red chili flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup baby arugula
- 1 cup croutons
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup croutons
- 2 tablespoons goat cheese
- Bring water to a boil in a small sauce pan.
- Add a generous about of salt to the water as well as the lentil. Reduce the lentils to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
- Drain the lentils.
- In a saute pan add a tablespoon of oil and heat on medium high heat. Add leeks, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute until softened.
- Add ½ of the garlic and saute for a minute.
- Add carrots, fennel, the jus cube, a pinch of red chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are slightly tender. About 2 minutes.
- Add the lentils. Mix well. Taste and adjust for seasoning if needed.
- Remove from pan and let cool for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, mix together the remaining garlic, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk in the remaining oil together.
- Add half of the dressing into the lentils and mix well.
- Once the lentil mixture has slightly cooled add the arugula, ¾ of the pine nuts, and the croutons. Mix well.
- Place on a serving plate. Top with goat cheese and drizzle on more salad dressing.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
Homemade Jus recipe
The salad has crisp, fresh baby arugula, crunchy toasted pine nuts and croutons, creamy goat cheese, lots of crispy, sauteed vegetables and a tangy salad dressing. When you combine all these ingredients, it makes a great salad.
I loved the salad and the beany lentils are actually being used up faster than expected. Before I know it a will be wanting to press that buy button on Amazon again … just not so fast this time and in a smaller quantity.