Lentil, Grain and Herb Salad with Orange
Earthy and substantial with a hit of bright citrus and fresh herbs, this salad fills you up without weighing you down.
Servings: 8
Calories: 219kcal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Puy lentils or green lentils, rinsed
- 1 cup fine bulghur wheat
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley chopped
- 1 bunch coriander chopped
- 1 bunch mint chopped
- ¼ whole red onion finely chopped (more if you love raw onion)
- 3 tbs slivered almonds toasted in a dry pan, or use chopped toasted almonds
- 2 tbs baby capers rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup currants or sultanas
- 1 lemon juiced
- 3 tbs olive oil
- salt
- 2 oranges peeled and segmented
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tbs pomegranate molasses honey works as a substitute if you don’t have any
Instructions
- Put the lentils into a bowl and cover with 1 cup of water. Put the bulghur wheat into another bowl and cover with 1½ cups of water. Put both bowls into your cold steam oven and set it to 100°C/212°F, steam setting (100% humidity).
- Cook the bulghur until all the liquid is absorbed and the grains have just a little chew, about 25 minutes. Cook the lentils until they’re just tender. I can’t give you an exact time for the lentils – depending on the age and quality of the ones you use, it could take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour. I start checking at 25 minutes as the bulghur wheat comes out, and every 10 minutes thereafter until I’m happy with the texture.
- Once they’re cooked, fluff the wheat grains with a fork, drain the lentils and put both into one bowl. If you’re preparing ahead, you can cover and refrigerate the lentils and wheat at this point, for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to finish the salad, steam them again for around 12-15 minutes to heat through before dressing.
- Add the herbs, onion, almonds, capers, currants, lemon juice and oil to the bowl and mix very well to combine. Taste and add salt to season well, then mix again. Add the orange segments and mix gently so they don’t break up.
- Mix the yoghurt and cumin together and set aside in a small bowl.
- Serve the salad at room temperature, with the cumin yoghurt to the side and pomegranate molasses for drizzling over the top.
Notes
- Serves 8 as a side dish.
- I am fine eating this as a stand-alone meal, but for the less salad-inclined members of the house, I serve it with some baked meatballs. I mix together half a kilo (a pound) of beef or lamb mince, a handful of breadcrumbs, half a finely chopped onion, a good pinch of salt and a teaspoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander and ground turmeric. Bake in a hot oven (regular or combi steam) until they’re browned and cooked through. They’re a great addition if you like things a little more meaty.
- If you want to prepare ahead, cook the lentils and wheat up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until you want to make the salad. Pop them back in your steam oven to reheat just before you stir through all the other ingredients. I’ve noted this in the method below.
- I’ve specified fine bulghur wheat for this dish – it’s commonly found as fine grit or coarse grit. The coarse version is absolutely fine to use but you’ll probably need to give it extra cooking time for the grains to fully absorb the moisture.
Nutrition
Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 725IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 2mg