Serves a Crowd

Black Lentil, Roasted Cauliflower, Kohlrabi & Apple Salad

by:
May  4, 2017
4
1 Ratings
Black Lentil, Roasted Cauliflower, Kohlrabi & Apple Salad
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 2 as a main (or 4 as a side)
Author Notes

A simple but interesting (and delicious) salad that uses a range of fresh vegetables, there are a lot of ingredients here, but none are hard to come by. Feel free to substitute ingredients you think will go nicely. This makes an impressive side dish for a dinner spread, or works as a stand-alone vegetarian/vegan meal. If serving as a main, I would double the lentils to make it more substantial.
—Kali

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Salad
  • 1 small cauliflower, about 2 cups chopped
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
  • 120 grams black lentils (2/3 cup)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 bunch cavolo nero (lacinato kale), washed and torn by hand or cut into ribbons (about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 medium-sized kohlrabi
  • 1 small apple, or 1/2 of a larger one
  • 20 grams mint (3/4 ounce, or roughly 3/4 cup, loosely packed)
  • 20 grams parsley (3/4 ounce, or roughly 3/4 cup, loosely packed)
  • 1 lemon, zested and juiced
  • 75 milliliters olive oil (1/3 cup)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Herb sauce
  • 20 grams fresh cilantro/coriander (3/4 ounce, or roughly 3/4 cup, loosely packed)
  • 20 grams flat-leaf parsley (3/4 ounce, or roughly 3/4 cup, loosely packed)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 150 milliliters olive oil (2/3 cup)
  • Salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F) and cut the cauliflower into florets, peeling and slicing the stems as well. Place on a roasting tray and coat with the melted coconut oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned.
  2. While the cauliflower is roasting, prepare the rest of your ingredients. Boil the lentils with the bay leaves in plenty of water. [Editor's note: Make sure they are covered by 2 inches of water.] Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still have a bite. Drain, remove bay leaves, dress with a little olive oil, and set aside.
  3. While the lentils are cooking, cut or tear the kale into bite-size pieces. I find with very fresh, young cavolo nero that the leaves and stems are quite tender, so use the stems if you'd like. Massage the kale with a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon. Thinly slice the kohlrabi. If you have a mandolin, use this to make nice thin slices. Do the same with your apple and dress both with lemon juice. Add to the kale along with the lentils, cauliflower, and remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning.
  4. To make the green sauce, simply blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender. Taste for seasoning.
  5. Serve the salad with the herb sauce drizzled over or coat the plate with a spoonful for a pretty finish. [Editor's note: We used the green sauce as a thick dressing, spooning it over the salad and tossing it until thoroughly mixed. We then finished the salad with another squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of oil, and some more salt and pepper.]
  6. Some useful tips: 1) When making a salad like this, I find it helps to season and dress all the ingredients separately. This will ensure they are all balanced and seasoned just right. 2) If the kale is a little older or tougher, the earlier you massage in the dressing, the more tender the kale will become. This is a good leaf to take for lunch, as it doesn’t become soggy over the day like other salads would. 3) Adding lemon to the apple straight away is important to stop it from oxidizing and turning brown.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Catherine Lamb
    Catherine Lamb
  • Kimberly French
    Kimberly French
  • Kali
    Kali
  • KM
    KM

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4 Reviews

KM
KM October 25, 2018
We subbed in celery root (raw) for kohlrabi because it wasn't available and the salad was great.
 
Catherine L.
Catherine L. January 23, 2018
A few questions:
1) How many bay leaves do you use? They're not listed in the ingredients!

2) Where does the herb sauce come into play? Assuming you blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, and then just toss it with the salad? Would love more clear instructions on this!

Thanks,
Catherine
 
Kali
Kali February 12, 2018
Hi Catherine, I've adjusted the recipe to answer your questions! Apologies for any confusion.
 
Kimberly F.
Kimberly F. August 3, 2017
I had a lot of these ingredients, in my garden and pantry, and love them all. But this is not the recipe for me, and the substantial leftovers didn't move in my house. A lot of prep and dishes/utensils: cleaning, chopping, zesting, plus two elements had to be cooked separately, on stovetop (lentils) & in oven (cauliflower). Felt like it took all day. And this was a case where the parts separately exceeded their sum (e.g. I couldn't stop sampling the cauliflower roasted in coconut oil & salt, but it got lost when all was mixed together). Even though I make similar salads and cook a lot, I had a little trouble following the directions, especially dressing elements individually (or at the end?). Then it seemed from the photo the idea was to serve the herb sauce on the side. I'd recommend a much simpler kohlrabi salad on this site by sassyradish, which we couldn't stop eating till every bit was gone in one sitting. I do appreciate the idea of combining these great ingredients in a meal--so thank you--and I might try simplifying a bit at some point and see if we like the result better.