Lentil Salad with Roasted Peppers & Sirene

45 min · Easy · Serves 1

630 kcal per serving · 29g protein

A Balkan lentil salad that works as a whole lunch: earthy lentils dressed while still warm, sweet oven-charred red pepper, sharp red onion and a generous crumble of sirene. Dressing lentils warm is the trick, because they drink the vinegar and garlic instead of just being coated by it. It keeps for two days in the fridge and tastes better on the second.

Ingredients

• Red bell pepper × 1
• 70 g Brown or green lentils (dry)
• 1 leaf Bay leaf
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tsp Red wine vinegar
• 1 clove Garlic clove, crushed
• 0.3 tsp Ground cumin
• 2 g Salt
• 0.5 g Black pepper
• Red onion, thinly sliced × 1
• 8 g Fresh parsley, chopped
• 50 g Sirene (or feta), crumbled
• 10 g Walnuts, roughly chopped

Method

1. Roast the red pepper

   

   Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan), set the whole red pepper on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, turning once, until the skin is blistered and blackened in patches.

2. Simmer the lentils

   

   While the pepper is in the oven, put the lentils and bay leaf in a pot with plenty of unsalted water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape. Drain the lentils and discard the bay leaf.

3. Steam and peel the pepper

   

   Move the hot pepper to a bowl, cover the bowl with a plate and leave for 10 minutes, then pull off the loosened skin, remove the stalk and seeds and tear the pepper into strips.

4. Dress the lentils warm

   

   In a salad bowl, whisk the olive oil with the red wine vinegar, crushed garlic, cumin, salt and black pepper, then stir in the warm drained lentils until every lentil is glossy.

5. Add the pepper, onion and parsley

   

   Fold the pepper strips, sliced red onion and chopped parsley through the lentils.

6. Top with sirene and walnuts

   

   Pile the lentil salad onto a plate and scatter the crumbled sirene and chopped walnuts over the top.