A sweet & spicy dressing complements this giant lentil salad full of late-summer veggies
September always starts out a little hectic but it's one of the best months.
Football season starts, it begins to not feel like it's 107°F outside, and the fresh produce is so good.
I feel like I need to stock up on all the produce that I know won't be around too much longer. I'm looking at you watermelon.
Tomatoes are also really tasty this time of year -- right before they get really untasty (I'm making that a word, k?) And everything is on sale because in-season veggies are best with they're on sale, right?! YES! Let's eat all the veggies!
Since September is always incredibly busy, I try to make my life easier by keeping already prepared food in the fridge and freezer.
I usually make something like chicken salad, quinoa salad, or pimento cheese. It's an easy way to make sure I'll have some protein and won't have to do much work when I feel overwhelmed by a full schedule.
Since I try to make new things every so often to have something to write about on this here blog, I decided to use some of my chard (I sorta kinda bought a lot of chard because it was on sale and it was so pretty), and leftover feta cheese from the easiest casserole ever I posted yesterday.
For this lentil salad, I sautéed some onions and a bunch (well, two bunches) of chard.
Boil the lentils -- personally, I like to add a little broth to the water for extra flavor but that's up to you and I really only do it when I have it in my fridge. Slice some tomatoes and crumble the feta. Whisk together a quick dressing, too. And then stir it all together.
Done.
This salad is tasty when served warm or cold, as a side dish or a main dish. You don't have to add the feta but I love how it adds another dimension of flavors.
You have the slightly bitter greens, the sweet & spicy dressing, and the tangy-saltiness from the feta and yum!
This makes a big ole batch (a little more than 8 cups) for you to eat all week and then some. [Note: as this sits, the chard starts to get a little more bitter but it's still really tasty in my opinion]
Chard and Feta Lentil Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups green lentils rinsed & sorted
- 7 teaspoon olive oil divided
- 1 large onion about 2 cups, chopped
- 2 bunches chard about 16 cups, chopped
- 1 clove garlic about 1 tsp, minced
- 4 teaspoon honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 ounces feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Put the water and lentils in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30-35 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion and sauté for 10 minutes. Add chard and sauté for about 5 minutes, until chard has wilted.
- Whisk together honey, red wine vinegar, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and remaining 4 teaspoons olive oil. Stir into lentils. Add in onion-chard mixture and stir well. Fold in sliced tomatoes and feta, if using.
Nutrition Facts
Meme
Want more lentils? Here are some of my favorites:
Samantha @ThePlantedVegan
I never know how to use lentils, but this is definitely a good way to use them! Thanks for the recipe!
Meme
Thanks Samantha! Lentils are so underrated in my opinion -- it's time we change that 😉
Min
We must seriously be on the same wavelength bc I just made some lentil and chard frittata before I left for FNCE as well! Love those two ingredients together!! Miss ya...
Meme
Haha! Yes! I miss youuuu