Lentil, beet and feta salad
45 min · 30 g protein · 437 cals / serving
Earthy lentils soaked in a sharp mustard vinaigrette, sweet ruby beets, salty feta, quick-pickled red onion and toasted walnuts, finished with peppery arugula and a cool dill-lemon yogurt. It is one of the few salads that tastes better on day three than on day one.
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
- 14 oz (about 4 small) cooked beets, cooked and peeled (vacuum-packed is fine), diced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 tbsp walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 5 cups arugula
Dill yogurt
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Steps
- Put the lentils and bay leaf in a pan with plenty of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. Add half the salt for the last 5 minutes. Drain well and discard the bay leaf.
- While they cook, put the onion in a large bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of the salt and leave it to quick-pickle for 10 minutes. Whisk in the oil, Dijon, honey, garlic and pepper, then toss the warm lentils in this vinaigrette, onion and all; warm lentils drink it up. Let them cool.
- Fold the parsley and mint through the lentils and divide among four containers.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes until fragrant, and cool. Top each box with beets, feta and walnuts, then pack the arugula on top (or separately if making ahead more than a day).
- Stir the yogurt, lemon juice, dill and the rest of the salt together and spoon it into four small jars. At lunch, dollop the yogurt over and toss.
Good to know
How long does it keep?
Five days for the dressed lentils, which get better as they sit; four once the feta and beets are on. The yogurt keeps 5 days in its jar.
How do I pack it?
Keep the beets on top of the lentils rather than mixed in, or everything turns pink by Wednesday. The arugula and walnuts stay crisp in their own bag for the days further out.
Can I use canned lentils?
Yes: about 600 g drained canned lentils (three 15-oz or 400 g cans, minus a few spoonfuls) replace the dried ones. Toss them in the vinaigrette straight away and give them 20 minutes to soak it up.
Per
- Calories
- 112
- Protein
- (29%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (25%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (46%)
- 14 g
- of which sugar
- 4 g
- Fiber
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 318 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1750 kcal goes into the pot and 1251 g of ingredients comes out as about 1560 g of food: 112 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.