Masala Salad

In a bid to keep to a vegan diet I had a hunt online and spotted this recipe from cookie&kate's blog who I believe got inspiration from   Gena Hamshaw's new vegan cookbook power plates 100 nutritionally balanced, one dish vegan meals. Both Gena and Kate's blogs are worth checking out so follow the links if you would like to.

I chose to swap the pumpkin and sunflower seeds for pine nuts in my version and added some chilli. For me the combination of sweetness from the roasted carrots and fresh mint make this salad unique. The ingredients quantities are often recommended for 4 people but my wife and I usually polish the lot off. This salad shouldn't take you more than an hour to prep and cook. Enjoy!

Ingredients

200g green lentils, washed and cooked

5 medium carrots (approximately 600g) peeled and sliced

1 chilli, finely chopped

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste   

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

70g curly kale  

70g Rocket

1 large handful of fresh mint, chopped

20g of pine nuts, toasted

Masala Dressing

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated

1 1/2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 

1 pinch of salt 

freshly ground black pepper

Method 

Start by preheating the oven to 200 degrees. Next, wash the green lentils in cold running water. Place them in a pan and bring to the boil for 10 minutes. After, turn the heat down to a simmer for 20-30 minutes. You don't want the lentils to go too mushy so check them after 20 minutes of simmering.

While the lentils are cooking  place the peeled and sliced carrots in a large based oven dish. Drizzle the olive oil over and add the finely chopped chilli, maple syrup and ground cumin. Mix and shake the dish so that the carrots are covered and ready for roasting. Place the dish in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

While the carrots are roasting make the masala dressing by simply mixing all of the ingredients in a jug.

Place the curly kale, rocket, mint and red onion into a large salad bowl, drizzle the masala dressing over and mix it through.

Take the lentils off the heat when ready, rinse with cold running water and drain well. Remove the carrots from the oven and allow to cool.

Stir the lentils and carrots into the salad bowl and sprinkle some toasted pine nuts on top. Now you are ready to serve up.