Bean

Lentil-Red Pepper Salad

by:
August 29, 2010
4.5
4 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

I eat quite a lot of lentils, and inspired by Nicole Franzen's lemon thyme lentils, I decided to make a salad of lentils with roasted red and yellow peppers. This is a great lunch, and can be adapted to your taste. I like things lemony so I added quite a bit of citrus--you can reduce it. I keep the olive oil on the light side--you may choose to add more. While the lentils are the main event in this salad, the peppers add balance and sweetness, and roasting them is super-easy.

drbabs

Test Kitchen Notes

Drbabs's salad would be the perfect make-ahead lunch (with or without onions). The different textures are nicely matched and you can balance the flavors to your liking. – Stephanie —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked lentils, room temperature
  • juice and zest of one lemon
  • juice and zest of 1/2 lime
  • 3 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and finely diced
  • 1 small sweet onion, shallot, or a couple of scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped herbs of your choice (I used parsley, basil and oregano from my garden.)
  • 1-2 glugs, good olive oil, or to taste
  • salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1 dash red pepper flakes (or more as needed for heat)
  • (optional) crumbled feta or goat cheese, to taste
Directions
  1. Stir lemon and lime juice and zest into cooked lentils. Add roasted red pepper, onion and garlic, and paprika. Stir gently, being careful not to break up lentils. Add olive oil a glug at a time till the balance between citrus and olive oil is to your liking. Salt, pepper, and add red pepper flakes and cheese, if using, to taste.
  2. Serve with arugula or other salad greens.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • TheWimpyVegetarian
    TheWimpyVegetarian
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • cheese1227
    cheese1227
  • Lizthechef
    Lizthechef
  • aargersi
    aargersi

10 Reviews

TheWimpyVegetarian August 30, 2010
This looks delicious! I love lentils and am always looking for a new way to make them. Thanks! Oh, and I'm in the onions and garlic camp too! Yum!
 
drbabs August 30, 2010
It's really better with them--thanks!
 
Sagegreen August 30, 2010
This looks really great and so healthy, too! I made a red quinoa salad with red pepper today which looked soooo ugly I am not even going to enter it!
 
drbabs August 30, 2010
Oh--you should--it's not just about looks! I bet red quinoa and peppers are delicious together.
 
cheese1227 August 30, 2010
Oh, I KNOW I sould eat more lentils. This looks good enough to make that happen this week!
 
drbabs August 30, 2010
Thanks--I hope you enjoy it.
 
Lizthechef August 29, 2010
This looks delicious and I can't wait to try it!
 
drbabs August 29, 2010
Thanks--good to have you back on the site--I hope your friend is OK.
 
aargersi August 29, 2010
I would eat a lot of this WITH onions! :-) But then, I am not a doctor ...
 
drbabs August 29, 2010
The onions and garlic definitely add a lot of flavor...