This easy to prepare Mediterranean-style recipe makes a great side salad or a perfect meatless lunch or dinner addition to your Healthiest Way of Eating. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: Prep: 20 min; Cooking: 25 min; Chill: 1 hr Ingredients: 3/4 cup dried green lentils (you want to end up with 2 cups cooked) 2 cups water 3 oz canned/jar roasted bell peppers*, chopped 2 TBS finely minced onion 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 3 TBS balsamic vinegar 1 TBS fresh lemon juice 2 TBS + 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil salt and cracked black pepper to taste 1 bunch young dandelion leaves or arugula, chopped * If you prefer, you can roast the bell peppers yourself

Directions:

1. Wash lentils, remove any foreign matter, and drain.
2. Combine lentils and 2 cups lightly salted water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and cook at low temperature for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are cooked but still firm. Cook gently so lentils don't get mushy. When done, drain any excess water, and lightly rinse under cold water. Continue to drain excess water.
3. Mince onion and press garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health-promoting benefits.
4. Place lentils in a bowl and add peppers, onion, garlic, basil, walnuts, vinegar, and 2 TBS olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.
5. Toss dandelion or arugula with 2 TBS olive oil, 1 TBS lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve on plate with lentils.

Serves 4

If you want to roast your bell peppers yourself, preheat broiler on low and place peppers on sheet pan on rack in middle of the oven. Roast peppers under broiler until blistered on all sides. Do not coat with oil as peppers roast very well when dry. Place in a bowl and cover for about 10 minutes. This will make it easier to peel. Peel and chop.

Nutritional Profile

Introduction to Recipe Rating System Chart

In order to better help you identify recipes that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Recipe Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the recipes that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which Mediterranean Lentil Salad is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the recipe doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this recipe's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance back up to see the ingredients used in the recipe and the number of serving sizes provided by the recipe. Our nutrient ratings are based on a single serving. For example, if a recipe makes 4 servings, you would be receiving the nutrient amounts listed in the chart by eating 1/4th of the combined ingredients found in the recipe. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this recipe and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling." Read more background information and details of our rating system.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Mediterranean Lentil Salad