Description
This Turkish green lentil salad is bulked up with fresh vegetables and orzo pasta. It’s a healthy side dish full of flavors and different textures!
Ingredients
Scale
- 290g Turkish green lentils (1 ½ cups), or replace with any kind of green lentils
- 80g orzo pasta (⅔ cup)
- 12 dill sprigs
- 2 spring onions
- 2 large tomatoes, peeled and seeded
- 4 big gherkins
- 55ml olive oil (4 tbsp)
- 30ml red wine vinegar (2 tbsp)
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Cook the lentils and orzo pasta. Put the lentils in a mesh strainer and rinse them under cold running water. Put them into a medium-sized pot and add 1 ½ liters (6 ½ cups) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat to medium and cook the lentils for 10 min, stirring from time to time. Add the orzo pasta to the pot and cook for 10 more min, stirring from time to time. By then the lentils should be tender but still have a slight bite to them. Drain thoroughly in a mesh strainer and tip the lentils and orzo pasta into the bowl.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients. Pick the dill leaves from the sprigs and discard the sprigs. Finely chop the dill leaves and add them to the bowl. Chop off the root end and the top of the green stalks of the spring onions and discard them. Finely chop the spring onions, the tomatoes and the gherkins. Add them to the mixing bowl. Stir everything.
- Combine. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix again. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly, adding more salt or vinegar if necessary. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the salad in the fridge. Leave it there until it becomes cold, at least half an hour. If you have time you can keep it in the fridge for longer as the flavors will improve over time. Stir the green lentil salad again just before serving.
Notes
You can store the green lentil salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 460
Keywords: simple vegetarian side dishes, cooking lentils from scratch, bbq veggie sides