Seasonal Recipe: Sprouted Lentil and Pea Shoot Salad

Sprouted lentils ready to go
Inspired by Mark's recent recipe, I decided to use my sprouted lentils plus some of my propagated pea shoots and devise my own version. As it's winter, I thought something along Indian influenced lines would be good, with a spicy dressing to warm things up a bit.

This salad could also be served warm, if desired. Use a little oil to quickly stir fry the ingredients (starting with the carrot first), adding the cheese and the dressing right at the end.

The chopped and snipped ingredients

Ingredients

For the salad:
  • 125g lentils (sprouted weight, used fresh), mine were puy lentils, but any variety of sprouted lentil will do. Sprouted chick peas would also work well
  • 35g cheese, cubed - paneer to keep with the Indian influence or whatever hard cheese you have to hand. I used a mature cheddar
  • 15g pea shoots (approx 10-15 stems), freshly picked then roughly snipped with scissors into shorter lengths
  • 1 large carrot, cubed

For the dressing (adapted from this vinaigrette recipe):
  • 2 tablespoons (tbsp) vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Generous 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • Pinch of salt
Method
  • Assemble the salad ingredients in a bowl
  • Place the dressing ingredients in a clean jar, fit the lid firmly and shake vigorously to blend
  • Add dressing to taste to the salad
  • Stir through so all the ingredients are evenly combined and coated with the dressing
  • Unused dressing can be stored in the fridge
The final assemblage
Serves 1 as a substantial lunch, or 2 as a side salad. The lentils give the salad an earthiness, but as they're sprouted they also have a sweetness which combines well with the pea shoots and carrot. 

For a summery Mediterranean influenced salad later in the year, substitute e.g. feta for the paneer/cheddar cheese; a mix of halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper and diced cucumber for the carrot; and flat-leaf parsley for the pea shoots. Make the vinaigrette dressing as shown in the original recipe.

Comments

  1. Jo13 February 2013 at 13:04

    It looks yummy. I've never sprouted lentils or eaten pea shoots.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gardeningbren13 February 2013 at 14:37

    Looks yummy VP. Bet it tasted great, and most especially, was very good for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. VP13 February 2013 at 18:13

    Jo - you can easily get started - what you see is just from windowsill growing :)

    Bren - thanks, I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the Mediterranean style come the summer too :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Janet/Plantaliscious13 February 2013 at 20:53

    Oooh, yummy, what a lovely sounding recipe. I really must get my peas shoots going, just have propagator space issues! And no self discipline when it comes to looking after sprouting seeds...

    ReplyDelete
  5. HELENE14 February 2013 at 18:48

    Looks really good, I will have a go at this at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joan14 February 2013 at 22:12

    I love this idea! I've never tried sprouting my own lentils for salad but will now! Thanks VP for the great recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  7. VP18 February 2013 at 13:02

    Janet - I'm lacking in the self discipline department too! I just make sure they're in a really obvious place, so I remember to rinse them through. Having set days when I start them off helps too.

    Helene and Joan - let me know what you think :)

    Joan - welcome to Veg Plotting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sheryl @ Flowery Prose25 February 2013 at 03:15

    Looks fabulous - great inspiration to start another batch of pea shoots this week!

    ReplyDelete

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