Whole red lentil salad with char-grilled tempeh & citrus avocado mayo

Lentils make a great meal. They are filling and satisfying but light especially when you add lots of spring veggies with them. I regularly make salads with lentils. The rule as far as I’m concerned is two thirds of vegetables to one third of lentils. I like crunch in a meal, especially if it’s a salad. The snow peas & green beans are just blanched until they turn bright green but retain their crisp texture and nutrition. Add in the tempeh and you get a smokey balsamic
vinegar flavor which goes so well with all the Mediterranean flavours like the flat leaf parsley, the olives, the purple onions & the cherry tomatoes. Full of citrusy tastes, a variety of textures & good quality fresh ingredients, this salad is a must try for your spring lunches or dinners for you or your guests…

Makes = 4-6 people

1 cup puy or whole red lentils

375gm pkt tempeh, cut into lengths about 2-3mm thick

1 cup green beans, remove tips

1 cup snow peas, remove tips

½ cup pitted black olive, roughly chopped

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, tear leave off (approx. cup)

1x medium purple onion, finely sliced

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp good salt

Cracked pepper to taste

¼ cup lemon, juice

Cooking the lentils

Cook lentil in two cups of filtered water until al dente (approximately 15-20 minutes). Make sure lentils are cooked (try a few) there is nothing worse than under cooked lentils.

Once cooked, cool under running water and place in the fridge.

Char-grill the tempeh

Brush the tempeh with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & black pepper.

Place on a ready hot char-grill pan. Allow the tempeh to sizzle and blacken before turning.

To blanch seasonal vegetables

Bring water to boil & add teaspoon salt. Plunge green beans into water for 20-30 seconds or until bright green and still crunchy. Then remove and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process and retain the colour. Do the same with the snow peas. Be sure not to over cook them, we want a crunchy vibrant salad!

Toss the salad

Combine all the ingredients (except tempeh) in a large bowl and dress with the lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper. Arrange tempeh on top of the salad and serve with citrus avocado mayo.

Citrus avocado mayo

1 lime, juiced 

1 lemon, juiced

1 medium avocado

1tsp good salt

2 tbs olive oil

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Place in a jug and chill until ready to eat. This is best made fresh as possible.