Rocket & Lentil salad

rocket and lentil salad — **Do you prefer your salads with a little umf?**
Then this salad will not bore your taste buds, with the zing of mustard from the rocket, the creaminess of the lentils, the sourness of the goat cheese and the spice of the sun-dried tomatoes, it’s sure to delight the senses.

Serves: 2 / Ready in: 30 mins / Difficulty: 2/5 / Storing: Can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Ingredients

For the salad
- 70g rocket salad
- 1 red onion
- 4 tbsp pine nuts
- 150 dried green lentils
- 100g sun-dried tomatoes
- 100g feta or goat cheese
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- olive or avocado oil
For the dressing
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (or other vinegar)

Method

Cook the lentils as per pack instructions.

Meanwhile, finely chop and use oil to sauté the onions over medium heat. Drain and slice the tomatoes into strips. Once the onions have started to brown add the tomatoes and allow to sizzle for 3 minutes.

Make space in the pan by scraping the onions and tomatoes to the edges and add the pine nuts. Allow them to sizzle for a moment until they are toasted. Give the pan a shake so the kernels toast evenly. After a minute or so, or until the nuts have some brownness, stir together and set the pan to the side. Once the lentils are cooked, add them to the onion mix and stir them together.

In a pestle & mortar (or if you don’t have one, take a bowl and use the end of a wooden spoon/rolling pin) and crush up the coriander and fennel seeds until they are finer and the seeds have all popped. Using a jug with a lid, pour in olive oil, vinegar, the crushed seeds and a tsp salt. Put the lid on and give the dressing a good shake to combine.

Wash and place the rocket salad in your serving bowl. Top with the lentil mix, sunflower seeds and crumble over feta/goat cheese. Pour over the dressing, finally cracking over some black pepper.

Serve as a side dish or with some bread as a light meal. Enjoy!