Puy Lentil Salad with Halloumi

This salad is the perfect crowd-pleaser, great to serve at a dinner party over this festive season. Or perfect for a delicious week-night meal – the leftovers would be heavenly! To keep this plant-based, just omit the halloumi!

Serves 6-8 as a side

Ingredients:

Salad: 
250 grams cherry tomatoes – halved
1 cup puy lentils 
1 bunch asparagus (thin stems are best)
180 gram halloumi – sliced lengthways
2 radish – sliced very thinly
Olive oil* for roasting and frying

Herby Green Dressing: 
1 cup fresh parsley leaves 
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil* 
Juice of 1 lemon 
1 large garlic clove – roughly chopped 
1 teaspoon honey* or sugar 
Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 140 degrees Celsius. Drizzle cherry tomatoes with a generous glug of olive oil. Place in a single layer in an oven-proof dish. Roast for 60-70 minutes until sweet and slightly shrivelled. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Wash the lentils well and place in a medium saucepan along with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes (or until just tender and the water has been absorbed) with a lid slightly ajar.

Tip into a colander to cool to room temperature.

Trim the woody end from the asparagus. Cook for 30 seconds in a pot of boiling water before plunging into icy cold water to halt the cook. Drain and lay on a clean tea towel to dry.

Use a stick blender to blitz all the dressing ingredients until smooth. Season generously.

Heat a glug of oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Cook the halloumi slices until golden brown on both sides. (Do this step just before serving).

To assemble:

Toss the cooled lentils in the dressing (don’t do this while lentils are hot or they will absorb all the dressing). Stir through the asparagus and radish. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Top with the cherry tomatoes and the hot halloumi. Garnish with an additional drizzle of dressing and some cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

*Item not available online but is available in your local GoodFor store.

This recipe was contributed by Kelly Gibney from kellygibney.com.