Lentil Salad

I finally cooked! Yesterday was a super lazy day of just sitting at home, napping and watching a few episodes of Mad Men. I'm mad about Mad Men and have quite a bit of catching up to do (I just started with season 1).

Back to the food: I did not feel like going grocery shopping in the 90+ degree heat, and so had to use what I already had on hand.

I decided to make a lentil salad and add a few random vegetables that were still alive in my refrigerator.

This is such a versatile and easy salad to put together. You can have it pretty much any time of the year and serve it either warm, at room temperature or cold.

Special thanks to my co-worker Bill for wonderful home-grown tomatoes. They were amazing!



Ingredients
1/3 cup lentils
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 celery stalk, peeled, diced
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
1-2 tomatoes, diced
5 basil leaves, chopped

Directions

1) In a pot, bring lentils, salt and water to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes.

2) Immediately dress the cooked lentils with olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. That way, the lentils will soak up all the flavors!

3) Add the chopped vegetables and basil. Adjust the seasonings and you are ready all set. Alternatively, you can let the salad cool completely before serving.

What's your favorite dish to make with lentils?