Lentil and Celery Salad

This salad is so simple and so good. I love it any time of year but something about a cold lentil salad in the summer is so nice.



And while we're talking about lentils I have to say how much I love the lentil's flexibility. Warm and comforting in a winter soup or fresh and bold in a summer salad. Curried, pattied, baked, simmered...

Variations on the lentil salad theme abound in cookbooks and magazines everywhere. I have enjoyed playing around with different dressings from simple lemon juice and olive oil to complicated vinaigrette.

Use this recipe as a foundation for your own experimentation. You won't be disappointed.

French Lentil Salad
Serves 2-4

1 cup dry French Lentils, rinsed
1 clove garlic cut in half
bay leaf
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 chopped scallion
1/4 cup chopped parsley
olive oil and sherry vinegar
sea salt and pepper

Simmer lentils in 6 cups of water with garlic and bay leaf until tender (about 20 minutes). I usually make extra lentils so I have extra for another recipe or for the kids. Drain, remove garlic and bay leaf and let lentils cool a bit.

Toss warm lentils with the celery, scallion and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with sherry vinegar and olive oil to taste. Serve warm, room temp or cold.

P.S. My kids love plain lentils drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (they like to do that part themselves).