Lentil Salad with Cucumber, Red Onion & Dates

This lentil salad is a crisp, light and fresh salad — perfect for spring. This is made with crunchy cucumber, red onion, sweet dates and fresh parsley. The lemon vinaigrette adds a lovely, bright touch. You can enjoy this on its own or pair it with a main dish like roasted chicken or grilled salmon.

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Lentil Salad with Cucumber, Red Onion & Dates

Course Salad

Keyword gluten free, lentils, vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup green lentils (I used Bob’s Red Mill Petite French Green Lentils)
• 4 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large cucumber, finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup Medjool dates, finely diced
• 1 small bunch flat leaf parsley

Vinaigrette

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. 1. Rinse the lentils. In a medium saucepan, cook the lentils according to the package, but add a bay leaf. The lentils should be soft but not at all mushy. Err on the side of undercooking versus overcooking.
2. 2. Drain and chill the lentils for a couple of minutes. Add the diced cucumber, red onion, dates and parsley.
3. 3. Make the vinaigrette. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together.
4. 4. Drizzle the lemon vinaigrette on top and toss to combine.

Recipe Notes

For this salad you want to use green lentils or Lentils de Puy (French Lentils). They’ll stay firm and hold their shape. Some of the other types of lentils can get mushy, especially when being tossed around in a salad.

Bon Appétit!
xx—BB