It’s the first day of July and I just can’t believe it! I’m so excited for the holiday weekend – I’ve got a whole menu planned out (that includes this lentil salad) and I can’t wait to entertain and bring friends and family together through food.
But let’s not get too excited yet, we’ve got a few days until the fireworks start booming and the grills are fired up. Let’s discuss this lentil salad recipe that I made last week and can easily be whipped up for your 4th of July festivities. About a month ago, I vowed to start cooking more lentils and I think, so far, I’ve been doing pretty good.
Cooking lentils is no new thing. For this dish, I simply cooked dry lentils and tossed them together with a few of my favorite veggies. Swiss chard, Vidalia onions and carrots to name a few but you can easily use spinach or kale if you can’t find Swiss chard in your food store or farmer’s market. The veggies I used are really more suggestions than anything else because you can mix n’ match what you want to add in. I have a deep love for Swiss chard and I think it makes any dish better. I also tossed in a bit of fresh orange juice n’ zest and almonds for a bit of flavor.
I think I’d wear fresh orange zest as a fragrance if they sold it. Do they? I need to find it, if so!
This gluten and dairy free dish is such a flavorful summer meal, if I do say so myself. O boy, is it ever amazing! You’ll love it. A whole lot.
Have a safe and relaxing July 4th holiday! What’s everyone cooking?
And check out my gluten-free recipe for Glamour Magazine: Homemade Golden Muesli: An Unboring Healthy Breakfast Cereal to Eat All Week
Ingredients
- 1 quart purified water
- 1/2 cup lentils
- 1 cup carrot chips
- 1 Vidalia onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard finely chopped
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 Tbsp. dried cranberries
- 1/4 tsp. fresh lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 2 cups arugula
Instructions
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In a large saucepan, combine the water, lentils, carrot, Vidalia onion, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the lentils are soft, approximately 20 minutes. Drain and discard bay leaf.
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In the same saucepan, add olive oil over medium heat. Add cooked lentil mixture and Swiss Chard. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer to a serving bowl. Toss with lemon juice, almonds, cranberries and lemon zest.
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Serve at room temperature with arugula.
HI AMIE,
THIS LOOKS WONDERFUL I WILL TRY IT FOR MY HOLIDAY COMPANY. THANK YOU FOR SHARING
Awe; thanks Beverly!
Ooh, sounds delicious!
Thank you so much; enjoy your holiday!!
Sounds yummy! I like your container/presentation as well…clever!
This is such a creative way to use lentils! Thanks for sharing I am going to try this recipe
Lentils make everything taste better! This looks delicious!
I’ve had a bag of lentils sitting in my pantry for 6 months, thanks for the tasty-sounding suggestion 🙂
I can’t decide if I want the French Fusion or Purely Poppy first…
I’ll have to add this to my list of recipes to try as well! I would maybe try it w/a little bit of the Green or Italian RawFoodz dressing too, just for an extra flavor burst!
I love lentils! Last week I made vegan chilli with them. Delicious!
Greetings from Brazil! 😀
This looks amazing! I am very excited to try it out this week!
got swiss chard in my garden right now, perfect timing. Hope I win some dressing too!
This looks light and perfect for a summer lunch!
I love lentils! I’ve been looking for recipes that are both healthy and gluten free because my mom can’t eat gluten, and this seems perfect! 🙂 happy 4th!!
This salad looks wonderful. I will try this. Your salad dressings in the giveaway also sound yummy and healthy.
I can’t seem to find a decent, clean dressing for salads in the stores. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to win a bottle from RawFoods to help me out.
I, too, make my own condiments! Would like to try the Raw Foodz condiments! Sound so good! Lentil salads are perfect summer meals, and this looks very yummy!
sounds good but might put some sweet potato chips instead of carrots
Yum! I definitely need to give this a try!
This looks amazing! I have a bag of green lentils that looks me in the eye every time I walk by it. I didn’t want to make just a boring lentil soup, and now I don’t have to! Can’t wait to try this! Maybe one of the RawFoodz dressings would also be delicious with this recipe!
Looks yummy! Thanks Aime….love lentils.
Love to try these salad dressings….fingers crossed
I love lentils! I just never know what to do with them – now, I do!!! Plus this presentation is amazing! A healthy gift ☺
This looks absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing. 😀
Got some chard and vidalia onions in my CSA box this week. Can’t wait to give this a try.
This salad looks delicious, healthy and filling. Yum!
This sounds wonderful. I think beans, lentils, etc., are highly underrated, for both nutrition and yumminess! I love having lentils as a side dish, and I would love to try them in this salad!
Yum, I have never tried lentils cooled! Great way to work them into a salad. Thanks for the opportunity to win Raw Foodz Condiments!
This recipe is so simple to make and so rustic n healthy!
This is one recipe I will definitely try!
This sounds good!!
This looks really yummy. So many wonderful healthy recipes to try.
That sounds yummy and I will have to try this for something different for a side salad. As far as the orange zest, there are some lovely orange essential oils that you could whip up into a nice lotion or oil for your skin =)
I’m making this today! I don’t have Almonds left, so I am using Walnuts..
I can’t wait to try it!
I’m always looking for new ways to use swiss chard and I love lentils, now I have a recipe which will incorporate both!
I’m always looking for new and different ways to use lentils, and this sounds so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
would love to win!
Love the colors all together 🙂
Looks really good…think this one will be on my list of recipes to try. I’m also thinking that some of those salad dressings in the giveaway might be good on this salad. Thanks.
Did anyone win your Facebook giveaway?? 🙂
The RawFoodz dressings look fantastic. Thank you for the giveaway!