This warm caramelized carrot lentil salad is garnished with earthy flavours like cumin and turmeric and makes for a hearty and tasty vegan side dish or main meal. The intense sweet flavour of roasted vegetables is divine. All that sweetness that gently gets coaxed out of the vegetables by slowing roasting them is one of the tastiest ways to prepare root vegetables. Carrots and red onion combined with the subtle flavours of this lentil dish make for an explosion of caramelized sweetness.
Another Christmas has passed, and another non-traditional Christmas dinner has been devoured. Albeit we are Italian-Canadians, our holiday meals are far from traditional – no typical Canadian meal consisting of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, or cranberry sauce, and no typical Italian meal consisting of seafood antipasto, lasagna, or salted cod. Nope. We do things differently in my home. Our traditional Christmas meal varies from year to year and is often dependent on what I are inspired to cook in the moment. This year’s meal consisted of; (appetizers) shrimp ceviche, sautéed scallops and pancetta, and bruschetta, (first course) 3-mushroom saffron risotto, and (second course) roasted lamb, sautéed mushrooms and peas, roasted potatoes, and this vegan-friendly lentil side dish. We almost didn’t have the energy to finish off dessert, a decadent chocolate tiramisu, homemade cream horns, and Nutella puff pastry twists.
This warm lentil salad was actually an afterthought – only having realized that I myself had very few options for the second course since I don’t eat meat. An even quicker way to prepare this lentil salad would be to use canned lentils however, their texture and consistency pale in comparison to cooked dried lentils. My suggestion is to prepare a large batch of lentils, perhaps make a lentil bolognese sauce or a coconut-curried lentil eggplant stew , then set some aside to prepare this warm caramelized carrot lentil salad.
If you try this recipe (and love it!) be sure to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram with #bitesforfoodies so I can see your creation!
This looks and tastes great! I especially think it would make for a great side dish indeed especially since I’m now cooking for my sister and I tend to run out of ideas, haha. Thanks for sharing! I’ll be giving it a try.
I like carrots and lentils so this would work. I make lentils for my dogs and have 2 packs I need to make up right now. Thanks for the new recipe.
This recipe looks delicious. I would have never thought about preparing lentils like that but I love the idea. I hope this is something my family would like as well. Will try it out soon. So different to what we normally eat. I am excited to try something new.
I am not a huge fan of lentils, but I have to tell you, this looks amazing! I would definitely give this a try. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Maybe this one single recipe will convert you 😉
I am always looking for yummy side dishes and this one looks perfect. Will have to try it. Not sure my daughter will like the cumin spice but it’s worth a try.
You can omit it, of course! You could use Italian seasonings instead, like dried oregano, thyme, and parsley.
I’m actually wanting to include more lentils in my diet so this recipe is perfect! Also I think I might need to go check out your desserts as the word Nutella caught my eye… 🙂
Oh, you’ll want to check out that recipe too! It is SO easy, and seriously so delicious!!
Im trying to eat clean this year so I am on the lookout for good options to try. I haven’t really experimented much with cooking with lentils so this sounds like a good place to start.One of my daughters has been a vegetarian for a few years now and is always encouraging me to try new dishes but Im sure she would love this recipe too.
I can truthfully say that you will find a ton of delicious clean eating recipes on this Blog!
I’m actually making lentejas (lentils) for part of our dinner tonight. I’m 1/2 Colombian and it’s like a staple LOL! LOVE them! This recipe looks so different. My brother is a strict vegetarian, so I will definitely be sharing it with him, too.
I should be Colombian then because I LOVE lentils!! I hope you try this. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! If you do try it please come back and let me know what you (or your brother!) think 😉