Red Lentil and Cilantro Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz. red lentils (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water)
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped (about 1 bunch)
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil (the best you can get)
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Heat the chicken stock in a sauce pan to boiling. Add the lentils and drop the temperature to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl (metal preferred) and place in the refrigerator to let cool for at least and hour.
Add the olive oil and lemon juice to another bowl. Whisk together briefly. Chop the onion and cilantro and mince the garlic and add to the mixture. Add the cumin and a bit of salt and pepper. Transfer the cooled lentils from the bowl to the mixture. Mix well with a spoon.
Chill again for at least a half hour. The longer this chills, the more the flavors will meld.
Serve as a side dish or as a spread.
Notes
I was going to try to make a tabouleh with quinoa as my daughter has Celiac's and can't have bulgur. The grocery store didn't have quinoa (COVID!!!!) and so I improvised.
I've served this with grilled lamb skewers and grilled zuchinni skewers, but this dish would easily stand on its own or as an appetizer, spread on some pita.
2021-08-24 After playing around with this for a while, I've reduced the liquid from 4 cups to 2. I found that I had to reduce the lentils quite a bit with more liquid, which gives an inferior texture. The ratio may seem to narrow, but it works out great for this dish.