After the indulgence of Easter I really wanted to start the new week with a fresh, healthy meal. Start as you mean to carry on and all that. So I whipped up this tasty lentil salad, flavoured with dill, capers & lemon. Serve with some peppery rocket and top with smoked salmon to turn this side into a quick but nutritious main meal.
Where I live there are lots of little convenience shops to buy extra food staples without having to go to a huge supermarket, but the problem with this is that sometimes the selection leaves a little to be desired. No fresh dill anywhere, I literally tried about 3 stores. So this recipe is using dried dill (which still packs a good bit of flavour), but you can substitute it for fresh if you are lucky enough to have some.
The great thing about this meal is there is a real minimal amount of prep to do. The only part that requires any cooking is the lentils, which literally take just over five minutes in a pan with the other fresh ingredients. This dish is tasty hot or cold, so can be made ahead too.
Lentils – Best for fibre and protein
I know lentils aren’t exactly everyones favourite, on their own I suppose they are a bit bland. So using some fresh herbs and infusing them with sauteed onions does the trick. Lentils are such a great source of protein and fibre, plus a nice lentil salad mix makes a change from serving your meal with rice/quinoa.
I also forgot just how nice of a herb dill is, it’s got such a lovely mild flavour that compliments fish perfectly. This is a real spring-time meal, gone are the days of hearty winter stews. It’s time to get creative with salads, which I love. Dill is definitely a new favourite of mine.
I made this lentil salad for my boyfriend and I earlier in the week and we both committed to keeping the health streak going until the weekend. We each have a huge foil-wrapped italian easter egg staring at us in the dining room though. The resolve is strong, well at least until Friday!
We’ve both let the healthy diet slip a bit over the weekend just gone. With Easter you can’t help but load up on hot cross buns & chocolate. Not only that but our friends love the novelty of not having to get up for work on Easter Monday. So perhaps a few too many beers were had on Sunday night (which obviously meant a trip to the fish & chip shop the next day, god it gets worse!). So I was super glad to load up on this nutritious meal.
Salmon & Lentil Salad With Dill & Lemon
A quick to make, fresh tasting salad. Serve with peppery rocket.
Ingredients
- 1 tin Brown lentils
- 1 Onion
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 tsp Dried dill
- 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 1 Lemon
- Salt & pepper
- 1 stick Celery
- 1 tbsp Capers
Serve With
- 150 grams Smoked salmon
- 1 Handful Rocket
- Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes
Instructions
-
Chop the onion into small cubes. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onions over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
-
Add the dill to the pan and continue to heat for 1 minute.
-
Drain and rinse the lentils well under a running tap, then add them to the pan. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes then take off the heat.
-
Cut the lemon in half and squeeze. Drizzle the juice over the lentils. Then mix in the greek yoghurt.
-
Chop the celery and capers into small pieces. Mix into the lentils.
-
Taste and season with salt & pepper. Add more dill if you desire.
To serve
-
Plate up in two portions. Add a side of peppery rocket and smoked salmon. I also added some salad ingredients like cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Serve with a lemon twist.
Recipe Notes
The lentil mix can be kept in the fridge and served cold too.
In case you are wondering what the topping on the salmon is, I had some left over honey & mustard dressing which complimented really well too.
