This simple lentil salad for this week’s Cook the Book Fridays recipe from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen was a bit of a lifesaver for me this past weekend. Packed with protein, it was a feature of my lunches and dinners over the course of a few days (and it got better with each day, the flavours were more intense). It’s the perfect salad to have hanging around in the warm weather – refreshing but satisfying at the same time!
You start out with lentils (Le Puy if you can get them) and cook them with some thyme, bay leaf. When they are nearly cooked, you add some carrot, celery and red onion. Once it’s all cooked, you drain the lentils and dress them with the red wine vinegar/ shallot dressing and either serve it slightly warm or allow it to come to room temperature. Just before serving, add some parsley, toasted walnuts (I used pecans) and crumbled goat cheese. With a slice of really good bread, some butter (and maybe a glass or wine), this is a perfect light summer lunch.
Get the recipe for David Lebovitz’s lentil salad with goat cheese and walnuts here or on p 233 of My Paris Kitchen.
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Looks great. I loved this salad so full of nutrition. I brought some puy home from France and had some thyme and bay leaves from my mother in law’s garden. I loved this one.
I need to get me some Puy on this trip!
Love your suggestions for a light summer lunch! Love the colors in the pictures!
Thanks, it’s a pretty colourful salad!
Good to know that the salad improves in flavor overtime. Mind did not last beyond the first day.
Ha!
What a perfect summer lunch. And it’s nice that it makes a big batch to feed you all week long!
Yes it was a good “go to” during a busy week!
In my opinion, anything with lentils and goat cheese is going to be awesome, and I cannot wait to try your version using David’s recipe. It looks delicious!
Yes it’s a good match!
I used pecans in mine too and they worked perfectly. This was so good I am going to do a repeat very quickly while I still have more goat cheese. That close up photo looks so inviting, great shot.
Thanks so much 🙂
You’re right, this is a perfect and protein-packed lunch for as long as it lasts. I didn’t get mine made until Sunday. I talked to Ro a few weeks ago and she told me how delicious this salad was so I saved it for a luncheon I gave on Monday. I did mail order Le Puy French green lentils, however, and agree with David that nothing beats the real deal. Unfortunately I had NO leftovers – my friends took what was left home to husbands. I decided to take it as a compliment.
I need to bring some Puy lentils home with me!
It really was the perfect summer lunch, which is just how I ate it!
Perfect indeed!