Creamy lentil salad
By esther on Monday, April 16 2007, 10:55 - The other sides - Permalink
I L-O-V-E my food blog. I might even love it more than the actual food I make. The time I spend musing about what to cook or bake and the research that goes into it are some of my most enjoyable and creative moments. But no matter how much it inspires me, there is always the inevitable slump. No matter how much I love my perfectly arranged kitchen, my not so organized cupboard of goodies and my cheery Sunday market, there comes a point in time when I want absolutely nothing to do with them, when I'm not feeling the vibe.
Luckily for me and even more luckily for those that I feed, this slump is usually relatively short lived and is smoothed over in part by trips to my neighborhood Picard when the going really gets rough. But more often than not, inspiration comes in the form of a telephone call to my sister or my mother. The "So what are you guys having for dinner?" question is usually the third or fourth one out of my mouth after asking how everyone is doing. As I listen, I then proceed to go about my kitchen, checking the fridge to make sure I have the ingredients or similar ones necessary to make the described dish. I'm a shameless copycat cooker.
This salad is the result of one such conversation with my sister over Easter weekend. I had gone about making a special dinner on Sunday and I was totally drained of ideas come Monday. My sister's version was much more interesting than this one and it was filled with tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley and feta. I didn't have any of these things and couldn't bring myself to walk the 10 measly minutes to the store to get them. Hence, the changes.
Regardless of the short list of ingredients, this lentil salad or the slumpy salad as I started calling it came of pretty darn good. I completed the four unglamorous steps of pour, drain, dump and chop in between commercials and then served it with slices of organic smoked salmon. Simple, light and easy; even borrowed inspiration can be delicious.
Creamy lentil salad
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup whole wheat couscous
2 large cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ras el hanout
2 handfuls arugula
Salt and pepper
Pour boiling water over the lentils and let sit for about 30 minutes. After, drain the water and rinse the lentils. Add the lentils and garlic to a large pot of water to cook until the lentils are soft but not mushy. Drain the water, reserve the garlic and let the lentils cool.
In the meantime, prepare the cousous by pouring about a cup of boiling water over the half cup of grains. Cover and let sit until all the liquid has been soaked up and the couscous is tender. Fluff and add to the lentils.
In a food processor combine the reserved garlic, tahini, lemon juice and spices. Pour over the lentil couscous and refridgerate.
Remove from the refrigerator about an hour before serving. Mix in arugula and salt and pepper.
Makes about 4 side servings
Comments
It's refreshing to hear that even food bloggers experience culinary slump. I have to admit the gastronomic doldrums can turn me, a lover of cooking, into a simple panhandler. I like the clean look of this photo... and better yet, you've inspired a go at my version of this great looking salad. Thanks!