I used to associate lentils with hippies who ate bad food and vowed never to go over to the veggie dark side and eat them. However, over the past few years, I have eaten some really good lentils along the way and discovered that they are actually pretty tasty. My favourite kind of lentils by far are Puy, or French green, lentils. They are quite smaller than the brown lentils that you most often see in the grocery store, and they have a little bit more bite to them too. I love Puy lentils’ nutty flavour, which goes especially well with the creaminess of the ricotta in this salad from the cookbook, Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe
Lentil and Ricotta Salad
1 cup lentils
1 cup ricotta
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon parsley leaves
2 tablespoon basil leaves
2 tablespoons arugula leaves
extra virgin olive oil
Rinse the lentils and put them in a pan with the peeled garlic and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let them simmer for around 20 minutes. Drain the lentils and remove the clove of garlic. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and the vinegar to the lentils, and then season with salt and pepper while still warm.
Chop up the herbs and arugula and stir into the lentils to combine all of the flavours. Slice or spoon the ricotta over the lentils, and top off the salad with more salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Recession Recipe Recommendation: If you love Puy lentils and are ever in LA, be sure to check out Mozza Pizzeria for their Crispy Goat Cheese and Umbrian Lentils antipasti, which is total lentil heaven. Plus their pizzas are to die for too.
