This delicious salad features a few of my favorite ingredients: lentils, red bell pepper, arugula, and miso vinaigrette. It comes together quickly for a hearty side dish and can be eaten slightly warm (from the lentils) or cold as leftovers. The salty Kalamata olives and dried oregano give this a Greek-salad vibe—as does the longevity you'll get from the lentils.
Ingredients
1 cup dry lentils
3 cups vegetable broth
3 bell peppers: red, orange, and yellow
3 Persian cucumbers
1 5 oz. package arugula, chopped
3-4 scallions, trimmed
1 cup whole Kalamataolives, chopped
For the dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup white miso paste
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, grated with a microplane
1/2 teaspoon salt
A few turns of black pepper
Directions
Rinse the lentils in a fine-mesh strainer and add the broth to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the lentils and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
If there’s still a lot of broth that hasn’t been absorbed into the lentils, drain the lentils using a fine-mesh strainer. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
While the lentils cook, finely chop the peppers, arugula, cucumbers, scallions, and olives, and add them to a large bowl.
Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, nutritional yeast, oregano, garlic powder, and miso paste until smooth.
Add the cooked lentils to the bowl and stir to combine.
Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well so everything is covered.
Serve as a side or as a full meal; if serving as a meal, I like to add a fried egg on top for extra protein.
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