Yummy and Healthy Lentil Salad

I love to get creative in the kitchen!  As a vegetarian, making beans and lentils is important for nutrition and you feel so accomplished when you make something so satisfying!  Lentils fill you up with great protein yet they are tasty and you absolutely know they are good for you.

Here is a picture of my completed salad, and by the way, the napkin I made with a sashiko stitch in a lotus design.  If you wish, check out my Sashiko Placemat and Napkin Pattern on Etsy:  Bonnie Lynn Young's Sashiko Placemat & Napkin Pattern.

Here is my nice lentil salad for a hot summer day:

Lentil Salad with Roasted Veggies

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss in 2 TB olive oil:  2 cups of chopped carrots and 4 shallots, cut into thin wedges.

3. Spread this mixture onto large baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.

4. Roast the veggies about 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, place 1 1/2 cups of brown lentils, 1 bay leaf and 2 cloves of garlic (crushed flat but left intact) in a saucepan.

6. Cover with water about 1 inch or so over the lentils.

7. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to med/low and cover.  Simmer about 15 minutes.

8. Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt.  Recover and cook about 10 more minutes, until lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Drain and toss out the bay leaf and garlic.

9. Mix the lentils and roasted veggies together and toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (the best, from Williams Sonoma, is aged 25 years), and some fresh lemon to taste.

10.  Put lentils over fresh spinach and pour on some more yummy balsamic vinegar.  I used cherry balsamic!

Here is the result:

This recipe is a twist on a similar one I found on Pinterest.  Please go to my Pinterest account, http://pinterest.com/youngbon2/ 
to find more delicious vegetarian/vegan recipes.

Until next time, keep creating and I will too!