My Little Paris Kitchen: Puy Lentil Salad with Beetroot and Dill Dressing

Thank you to Chubby Hubby for the pic

Watching the Food Channel is one of my guilty pleasures and I absolutely love zoning out to cooking shows featuring exotic recipes from all over the world. My Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo is about a very cute English girl whose set up a teeny tiny restaurant in her Parisian apartment. Equipped with a compact oven and a love for French food, Rachel whips up traditional dishes made easy. While most of her dishes are pretty rich and decadent (typically French really), I love getting inspiration for flavours. On the latest episode, Rachel made a gorgeous colourful salad with lentils and beetroot. It was such a lovely recipe, I had to post it for you.

Rachel Khoo 'My Little Paris Kitchen'

Puy Lentil Salad with Beetroot

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size beetroot
• 200g Puy lentils
• 1 bay leaf (if you cannot find fresh ones, it is ok to use dried bay leaves)
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt and black pepper
• 200g fresh soft goat’s cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil

Dill vinaigrette

• ½ bunch of dill*
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or any neutral flavoured oil – I used grapeseed oil)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• A pinch of sugar

Directions:

1. Start by roasting the beetroot. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and wrap the beetroot in foil before placing on a baking tray. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the beetroot is tender (but not mushy).
2. Wash the Puy lentils in cold running water and strain. Put the washed lentils in a pot together with the bay leaf, thyme and a generous pinch of salt. Cover the lentils with cold water that is at least double the volume, and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. It is important to use cold water so that the cooking is even and the lentils don’t turn mushy on the outside and uncooked on the inside.
3. While waiting for the lentils to cook, start on the vinaigrette. Using a food processor, put in the dill (including the stalks), oil, white wine vinegar, salt and sugar, and whizz them up. Taste and add more salt or sugar as desired. If you find the vinaigrette a bit stiff, add in a bit more oil to loosen the mixture.
4. Once the lentils are cooked, drain and wash them with cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Remove the bay leaf and thyme, and set aside.
5. Once the beetroot is roasted, peeled and finely slice it with a mandolin (always use the hand guard) or a sharp knife.
6. To assemble the dish, divide the lentils equally among the plates. Place the sliced beetroot on top and crumble the goat’s cheese. Drizzle the dill vinaigrette and olive oil, and finish with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper.