Versatile Lentils
Are you participating in Veganuary? If yes, I have a great vegan recipe for you.
And even if not, I am sure you will still enjoy this Roasted Vegetables Salad With Beluga Lentils. Jump to Recipe
It is delicious and easy to make. You can have it hot just after you prepare it, but also you can enjoy cold leftovers the next day. Plus it is also very healthy.
One of the key ingredients of this dish, apart from the roasted vegetables and dressing, are lentils. These small seeds are incredibly versatile and can be used in many ways: soups, stews, curries, dhals {check this delicious Dhal with Spinach and Green Peas} or even baked into bread.
They are easy to cook and soak up other flavours very well to make them spicy, sweet, sour, salty, or savoury. So they were the perfect accompaniment to this Roasted Vegetables Salad.
Black Lentils – One of the Main Ingredients of Roasted Vegetables Salad With Beluga Lentils
There are a few different lentil varieties, such as green, brown, red, etc., but for this salad, I used black lentils as they hold their shape better than others. And because of their resemblance to caviar, they are also called Beluga lentils.
Black Beluga lentils are delicious and nutritious. They are very low in fat and calories but are an excellent source of iron, fibre, magnesium, zinc, folate and protein. These healthy foods are also high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
If you don’t have them, you can substitute them with brown or green lentils as they also keep their shape pretty well, unlike the red and yellow ones.
Delicious and Healthy Roasted Vegetables Salad
The second part of this salad consists of vegetables. I used roots: carrots, parsnip, beetroot, red onions and Jerusalem artichokes. However, you can freely add other types or omit ones you don’t have close at hand or ones you don’t like.
I try to cut the vegetables into pretty small equal-sized sticks to make sure they look nice but, more importantly, roast evenly.
And proper roasting is key to the success of this salad. You want the vegetables to be nicely caramelized from one hand but still crunchy from the other. That way, even people who are not big fans of vegetables will probably enjoy their taste.
The Amazing Dressing that Binds the Roasted Vegetables Salad Ingredients Together
The last but not least component of the salad is the dressing. It is crucial as it fulfils two roles. Firstly, the dressing combines and enhances the flavours of the other ingredients. And secondly, it ensures the dish is not dry.
I make it with virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, honey and Dijon mustard and make quite a lot of it. To be honest, when I was working on this recipe, getting the right amount of the dressing probably took me the longest!
I stirred the majority of the dressing into the lentils. I used the rest of it to sprinkle on top of the vegetables just before serving this wonderful Roasted Vegetables Salad With Beluga Lentils.
Roasted Vegetables Salad With Beluga Lentils
Ingredients
Salad:
- 300 g dry black lentils
- 650 ml water
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 300 g carrots peeled and cut into approx. 1cm x 1 cm x 4 cm sticks
- 300 g parsnip peeled and cut into approx. 1cm x 1 cm x 4 cm sticks
- 300 g Jerusalem artichoke peeled and cut into approx. 1cm x 1 cm x 4 cm sticks
- 300 g beetroot peeled and cut into approx. 1cm x 1 cm x 4 cm sticks
- 2 red onions peeled and cut into eights
- 2 tsp thyme
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 50 g kale without stems, thorn into pieces
- salt and black pepper
Dressing:
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 5 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 tsp maple syrup {or liquid honey, if the dish doesn't have to be vegan}
Instructions
- Preheat a fan oven to 200C.
- Cover a big roasting tray with parchment paper, and transfer all the root vegetables onto it. {If you don't want the beets to stain the other veggies, keep them separated just like you can see it on one of my photos}. Sprinkle them with thyme, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt, a bit of pepper, and stir. {You can do this with your hands to cover well all the pieces with the seasoning and oil}.
- Put the vegetables in the hot oven and roast for 40 minutes, but stir them halfway through.
- As soon as the vegetables are in the oven, rinse the dry lentils, put them in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to boil and cook for 30-35 minutes on medium heat. 10 minutes before the end of the cooking process, add 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
- Mix the kale with 1 tbsp olive oil and some seasoning in a bowl.
- Make the dressing by stirring all the ingredients till they are all combined.
- When the vegetables are ready {caramelized but still with a bite to them}, take the tray out and stir them. Add the kale on top, and put everything back in the oven for 3-5 minutes. {The kale should be crispy but not burnt, so keep an eye on it}.
- Strain the cooked lentils and mix with two-thirds of the dressing. Check the taste, and if required, season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the Beluga lentils into bowls and top up with the mixture of vegetables. Sprinkle with the rest of the dressing some additional salt and serve straight away hot or enjoy the next day at room temperature.
Nutrition
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Yum! Pinning to my Salad Board to make. It looks delicious!
Thanks, Sandra 🙂 I am sure you will like it – the salad is delicious and healthy 🙂