Herewith a lentil salad that’s got some East Mediterranean Meets West Mediterranean style to it. This was something I threw together recently for some visiting MoCoolers. I thought it was pretty good, and now that I’ve made it again, I like it just as much. It’s relatively wine friendly, incredibly easy to make, and is quite good in the protein department for us anemic vegetarians.<\/p>\n
1-1\/2 c French green lentils (like Lentilles de Puy)
\n 5 c unsalted water
\n 1-1\/2 c dried bulgur (medium to coarse)
\n 1-1\/2 c boiling roasted vegetable stock
\n 1 large (or two medium) red onion
\n 1-1\/2 c chopped Italian parsley (not packed)
\n 1\/3 c sweet red wine vinegar (see note below)
\n 1\/2 c Extra Virgin olive oil, or more to taste
\n pepper
\n salt
\n 1 lemon<\/p>\n
Boil the lentils in the unsalted water for 20 minutes or until al dente. Drain and allow to partially cool; you can reserve the lentil water to add to stocks for earthiness and body. Put the bulgur in a bowl, add the boiling stock, then cover and let sit for 30 minutes. <\/p>\n
Peel and dice the onion. I like the dice to be 6 mm or so, but this is a textural element you can play with. In a large bowl, toss together the lentils, the bulgur, the onion, and the parsley with the red wine vinegar and the oil. <\/p>\n
Squeeze the lemon and toss the juice in, along with a few healthy pinches of pepper. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt; there should be enough of the vinegar to be a barely discernible sweet-and-sour element, but it should be just an accent to the earthiness of the salad ingredients. Add more olive oil if you want to pump up the richness. <\/p>\n
Let the salad sit, covered, for at least an hour, then serve in a large bowl, family style.<\/p>\n