From Community. I was missing some of the leafy herbs, and I cheated by using canned beetroot, but the great thing about salads is that you can usually get away with messing with the ingredients a bit. I have included the original recipe in full below, so you can see how it’s supposed to be done.
Ingredients:
- 300g lentils
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 eschalots, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- Sea salt and black pepper
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- ½ cup dill fronds
- ½ cup coriander leaves
- 200g aged cheddar
- 1 cup baby spinach leaves
Pickled beetroot:
- 6 beetroots (750g)
- 2 cups white wine vinegar
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 1 star anise
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 3 whole cloves
Method:
- To pickle the beetroots, scrub and clean the beetroots well. Combine all the ingredients in a large stockpot. Stir and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours until the beetroots are tender. When cool, peel the beetroots and cut into 2cm cubes.
- Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and cook for 20-25 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the eschalots, garlic, sugar and cumin and sauté until tender and starting to brown. While the lentils are still warm, stir through the eschalot mixture, along with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- Finely chop the parsley, dill and coriander. Break the cheddar into rough bite-sized chunks.
- Spoon the lentils onto a plate and top with the pickled beetroot. Scatter over the spinach leaves, herbs and cheddar. Finish with a drizzle of oil and season well with salt and pepper.
Cooking Antics 