French Lentil Salad

Cooking lentils in wine with garlic and onions make a very flavorful base for a salad. You can make them ahead (see recipe below) to assemble the salad in a snap. Use leftover rotisserie chicken, smoked lake trout, or omit the meat altogether to make it vegetarian.

French Lentil Salad

Ingredients

  • French green lentils (recipe below)
  • Roasted carrots (recipe below)
  • 2 cups Rotisserie chicken or shredded chicken from the deli
  • One package of mixed greens
  • ½ cup Feta cheese
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
  • ⅓ cup French black olives, sliced

Instructions

If using rotisserie chicken, remove meat from bones and shred. On a platter, layer mixed greens, sautéed lentils, roasted carrots, meat, crumbled feta, parsley (for garnish) and French black olives. Drizzle with olive oil and season with Kosher salt.

 

Sautéed Lentils with White Wine

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup French green lentils
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 cup white wine
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar

Instructions

Sort the lentils for any stones and rinse under cold water. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Add the lentils, the wine and 1 ½ cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and let cool. Add red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch of carrots, trimmed and scrubbed
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • Kosher salt

Instructions

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. In a cast iron skillet melt the butter and add the carrots. Season with kosher salt. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned and tender.