These marinated lentils are great to have on hand in the fridge for adding flavour, texture and protein to any salad.
Ingredients
Lentils
1 cup dried brown lentils
1/2 lemon (skin and all)
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup of chopped dried dates or currants
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp cardamom seeds,
Optional
1/4 cup of tender herbs (we like using a mix of coriander and parsley)
1/4 cup of dry roasted almonds (roughly chopped)
1/4 cup of feta (roughly chopped)
Method
1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add lentils, lemon, garlic and bay leaves. Simmer lentils for about 20 min until the lentils are al dente. *Note if you soak the lentils overnight this will shorten the cooking time.
2. Drain well, remove lemon and bay leaves but keep the garlic cloves in there and mash them slightly with the back of a spoon.
3. In a jar combine all the vinaigrette ingredients (including the dates/currants), tighten the lid and shake vigorously until dressing is well incorporated.
4. Pour the dressing over the lentils and let it marinate the lentils. Then add the herbs, almonds and feta if using.
Tips
These will keep in the fridge for up to four days in an airtight container.
If you don’t have the time to cook your lentils yourself, that’s no problem just replace with two cans of brown lentils, rinsed and drained.
Variations
With a few additions to this basic recipe it can feel like a brand new meal each time try switching up the herbs, and nuts or try it with goats cheese and add some roasted beetroot.
