Yesterday, I took my first flight in a year.
A year, people. This is coming from the woman who used to travel for a living for 4 years, jumping from airport to airport to airport every week and racking up Delta and Marriott points as if it was glamourous.
At the time, it honestly felt like it was luxury at it’s finest, but in retrospect, being Platinum and not having to take off your belt when going through security, I slowly realized, does not underscore any accomplishment you’ve had in your life. It means you haven’t slept in your own bed in a while.
I’m out in Kansas City these next two days soaking up everything I can at the Chopped Conference, and heading out to Silicon Valley next week for my first week at my new job (!).
But before I packed my bags (and organized all of Theo’s food into containers because I have control problems and even though I know my husband is perfectly capable—in fact more than capable—of feeding the boy, I must make sure things go as planned. Can you tell this is the first time I’m leaving? OMG I am slowly breaking out in hives).
As I was saying. Before I packed my bags, I made a solid effort to clean out the fridge of food that wouldn’t be consumed without my supervision. This smoky beet and lentil salad is a happy result of such efforts.
Beets are tossed in olive oil, smoked paprika, and coriander before being roasted. Lentils are cooked in garlic and broth on the stovetop, then gently tossed with some white wine vinegar.
Onions, cucumbers, greens. Feta.
Oh yeah, and walnuts.
It’s a main dish or a starter, depending on your serving size. Either way, you’ve got a healthy, filling, and delicious salad on your hands with this one. I highly recommend it.
- 3 medium sized beets, chopped into ½ inch cubes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry green lentils
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ yellow onion, sliced thin
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 cucumbers, sliced thin
- ¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 handfuls greens (mixed salad greens, arugula, microgreens, or whatever you have on hand)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Prepheat oven to 425F.
- Toss beets with olive oil, paprika, coriander and salt. Spread out in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, until tender. Let cool.
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and lentils and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth and salt and cook until lentils are tender, about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Stir in vinegar.
- In a large bowl, toss together cooked beets, lentils, onion, walnuts, cucumber, feta and greens. Mix well, salt and pepper to taste.
[…] Smoky Beet & Lentil Salad // Beets, Cucumbers, Onion // Beets & cucumbers are a recent revelation and a combination I just can’t stop experimenting with. This meal of a salad uses some of my favorite July veggies and tosses them with hearty ingredients like lentils and feta. […]
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