Recipe: French Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Goat cheese has half the saturated fat of cow’s milk cheese and one serving of this salad dishes up almost 26 grams of protein!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups French lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add lentils, bay leaf, thyme, and garlic. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Add the carrot, onion and celery to the pot and cook for another 5-15 minutes or until lentils are tender but not mushy.
3. While lentils are cooking, whisk together the vinegar, salt, mustard, olive oil, shallot and parsley together in a serving bowl.
4. Drain lentils when they are done and remove and discard the smashed garlic, thyme and bay leaf.
5. Add warm lentils to the dressing and toss to coat and cool to room temperature.
6. Add walnuts, goat cheese and lots of pepper to the lentils and toss to incorporate. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve cold or at room temperature.