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Cherry, Goat's Cheese and Lentil Salad

5 from 1 reviews

Showcases cherries along with some pretty lentils, a scattering of creamy goat's cheese and a few crunchy walnuts.

Tweaked from a recipe in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 500g (17½ oz) cooked green lentils - I used 2 tins, drained and rinsed
  • 4 handfuls baby spinach, stems trimmed
  • 85g (3oz) walnut halves
  • 210g (7½ oz) fresh cherries, pitted
  • 120ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil
  • 60ml (¼ cup) white wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • a few basil leaves
  • a bit of soft goat's cheese, roughly crumbled

Instructions

  1. Put the lentils into a large, microwaveable bowl and warm them gently for a couple of minutes. Now toss the spinach leaves through the warm lentils until the leaves have wilted a bit. You may need to pop them back into the microwave for another minute if the lentils are not warm enough.
  2. Now add most of the walnuts to the salad.
  3. Make the cherry vinaigrette by combining one-third of the cherries, the olive oil, white wine vinegar and ¼ teaspoon of salt and blending until smooth. I use a stick blender for this but you could also use a small jug blender. Add a generous splash of dressing to the salad.
  4. Tear some of the remaining cherries in half and stir most of them into the lentils. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
  5. Turn the salad out onto a platter and finish with the last of the cherries and walnuts, the basil and the goat's cheese. Drizzle with a little more dressing and serve the rest of it on the side.

Keywords: summer, healthy