This year I turn 25 and because of that I started this little list. There are 30 things I want to do before I turn 30, and baby, I’m going to do them no matter what!
Besides wanting to drink in a pub while singing an Irish bar song in Ireland, I also have a few things that are a little more right now instead of in the futre. One of those things is to cook my way through a book from cover to cover.
When choosing a book I had to take two things into consideration. The first is that I am a vegetarian so I can’t choose a book with meat in it, and the second is that I like the way my body is shaped now and didn’t think choosing a baking book was the best idea. I bake once to twice a week already and that’s more than enough!
Lucky for me I work in a book store so during my breaks I had a ton of cookbooks to look at. After browsing many, many, cookbooks I choose Canadian Living’s The Vegetarian Collection and have made 6 recipes from it so far – all delicious! This was the first recipe I made and the very first recipe in the book. I hope you enjoy this lovely, healthy salad, and this new segment on my blog!
To begin, toast almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often until golden, about 5 minutes.
Whisk together your oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add lentils and garlic; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain again. Disgard garlic.
Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley to a large bowl.
Toss with dressing to coat.
Stir in almonds and about ¼ cup of feta cheese. Sprinkle remaining feta just before serving.
Enjoy!
Lentil Feta Salad
Recipe from The Vegetarian Collection
Makes 4 regular and 6 small servings
Per 1 of 6 servings: 305 calories | 14g protein | 18g total fat | 25g carbohydrates | 6g fibre
Ingredients:
½ cup slivered almonds
1 cup dried green lentils
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup extra virgin olove oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dried oregano (or fresh)
salt and pepper
1 ½ cups cucumber, diced, seeded and peeled
1 cup halved grape (or cherry) tomatoes
½ cup red onion, diced, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
Directions:
In a small dry skillet, toast almonds over medium heat, stirring often until golden, about 5 minutes.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add lentils and garlic; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain again. Disgard garlic.
In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Add lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley. Toss to coat.
Stir in almonds and about ¼ cup of feta cheese. Sprinkle remaining feta just before serving.
What a great idea and what a delicious salad!
this sounds just lovely + i love your idea of cooking through an entire book. fun! i’m not a vegetarian anymore (i was for 7 years), but i still eat veg a lot of the time, especially in the warm spring/summer months. will have to try this!
So fresh and summery! I love it :) I also love the idea of cooking through a book. I wish I had the determination to do that, haha!
Wow, this looks so delicious! =)
Katrina, this lentil salad looks perfect. Sometimes I’m craving a simple, yet nutritious power salad after a long day. I’m saving this one for sure!
Oh this looks fantastic!! I need this for a light lunch this week! Yum.
What a beautiful salad!
I feel the list is the best way to go! The lentil salad looks fantastic, Katrina!
I love the idea of cooking through a book! I’ve thought of doing that so many times but it’s so hard to commit to. Your book sounds perfect (though I’m not veg 100% of time I do not like to eat meat all that often).
I am trying to get into lentils more. I’ve only had them in soup, would love to try a salad like this! Looks so delicious.
I LOVE that list! And I am awed by your ultramarathon dreams. Crazy!
This sounds like such a fun cookbook to cook through! I can’t wait to see all of the delicious vegetarian fare coming our way, especially because this salad looks so tasty!
This is one great and healthy salad, I love feta very much but never though of combining it with lentils!
I love lentils, I never cook enough with it. Your salad looks awesome.
I’ve been trying to incorporate more and more Mediterranean flavors into my diet lately, and this is perfect Katrina! I love the flavors you used in this colorful salad!
Mediterranean food seems best eaten in the summer, doesn’t it. And great idea on the cookbook goal. I too am a vegetarian so I’m looking forward to reading about your progress.
Totally. In summer I load up on kalamata olives and feta! So glad you stopped by!
Wow this looks and sounds amazing!!
Lentils never looked more fresh and delicious. What a great recipe.
I LOVE lentil salads and this sounds fab. I really like the almonds in this. Yum!
This salad looks fantastic! I have to leave out the almonds because of my peanut/nut allergy, but I LOVE lentils and feta and I think I’ll be making a big bowl of this for my lunches next week!
I love feta, and that salad looks so bright and cheerful!
I’ve nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award. See it here: http://treatstrinkets.blogspot.com/2012/05/dark-chocolate-dreams-cupcakes.html#
Thanks Kim! I’m so happy you stopped by :)
Love this delicious healthy salad. I’m hosting a healthy dinner gathering for a group of women next month and am so glad to have found this. Lentil salad was on my list to make.