This week I went grocery shopping without much thought as to what I would actually be cooking later on. So, when I got home from work last night I had to confront a hodge-podge of ingredients in order to assemble a meal. The result was something very unique and and very tasty. Hope you’ll try it!
Smoked Salmon and Lentils
1 cup of lentils (I used green), rinsed and drained
3 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
mixed greens
1 package smoked salmon
2 eggs, optional
Dressing:
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar would work here too)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
First, you’ll want to sift through your lentils and rinse them well. Then add them to a pot with 3 cups of chicken broth. You could use water if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for 25 minutes.
While the lentils are cooking, you can start making the dressing. I made mine in a food processor. You peel the papery skin off the shallot, place it in the bowl of the food processor with the general use blade (I used the mini bowl and mini blade since we’re only making a small amount of dressing).
Pulse until the shallot is finely chopped.
Next while the food processor is running, add 1/4 cup vinegar, then 1 tablespoon olive oil, then 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Adding the olive oil before the mustard will help the mustard slide off the tablespoon better. Let it run until all ingredients are well incorporated.
I didn’t have any fresh greens left, but I did have a package of frozen greens. So I cooked these while the lentils were still simmering. Whole foods has a great package of collard greens, kale and mustard greens. You just combine the whole package with 1/2 a cup of chicken broth (or water), bring to a boil then let simmer for 12 minutes or so, stirring once at the half way point and season them with salt and pepper or however you’d like.
If you’re going to use eggs, now would be the time to fry them up. Or poach them if you’re feeling ambitious.
After the lentils have simmered for 25 minutes there should be very little liquid left and they should not be mushy. If there is a lot of liquid left, taste them. If they are too firm for your tastes let them simmer a while longer. If they seem to be a good texture, just drain the extra liquid off.
Let the lentils cool slightly, then gently mix in the dressing. To assemble the plate, lay down the lentils first, top them with greens and finish it off with a couple slices of smoked salmon. Then if you’re using eggs, stack those on there too. Yum!
