NOURISHING WEEKEND RECIPES: FRENCH LENTIL SALAD

It's been a lovely sunny week with ocean swims, reading and ample time to make a mess in the kitchen.

Tomorrow I'm going on a little road trip down south, yippee! to the Ukitopia festival, a small community festival in, yep you guessed it, the town of Uki. Yippee! With a strong community focus the festival is run by the local arts collective showcasing live music, art displays and workshops. All this nestled amongst the beautiful surrounding mountains and rivers sounds good to me. 

Before I go, here's a tasty lentil recipe I made by Sarah from My New Roots, a food blog I discovered this week. I used leftover French green lentils I had stored in the freezer and as I didn't have all the ingredients I just used what I had. I did have fresh mint and coriander and they added that extra freshness. It really is one of the best lentil salad recipes ever!

If you're looking for something on the healthy and sweet side of things I did a spot of baking earlier this week from a 101 cookbooks recipe, and posted the recipe today- Rustic Carrot Cake Recipe. I'll definitely make it again, but next time gluten free for me. Delicious!   Enjoy x

French Lentil Salad Recipe

2 1/4 cups French lentils
1 medium red onion, diced
1/4 cup dried currants, or sultanas
1/3 cup capers

Dressing
1/3 cup cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp strong mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or paprika)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp mixed spice

Optionals
baby spinach, rocket
walnuts
goats cheese
Fresh herbs: parsley, coriander, mint, basil
Fresh salad or vegetables

Prepare lentils- rinse lentils well, drain. Place in medium sized saucepan and cover with 3-4 inches of water, bring to the boil, reduce to a summer. Cook for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft, but are still holding their shape. Rinse lentils under cold water. For the dressing..place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to mix well. When lentils have cooled slightly, toss with salad dressing. Add onion, capers and currants. If using other optional ingredients add use before serving.

Serves 4