Do you want to prepare something simple yet delicious for a friend’s gathering, a festive celebration, a family member’s birthday, or a party? Then, you definitely need to try this winter salad recipe by cookbook author and food writer, Melissa Clark.

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Lentil salad with roasted vegetables

The author of 32 books has prepared an astounding dish, which you’ll probably remember for ages — lentil salad with roasted vegetables. It will take only 1 hour 30 minutes, and you can feed up to 12 people at one meal time.

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Here are the steps:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put vegetables — small whole acorn squash, medium celeriac, small beets, medium carrots — in a layer on one or even two baking pans, alongside with olive oil and salt. Place rosemary and thyme on top of the vegetables, cover the pots with foil, and roast for about 25 minutes. After the time, remove the foil, stir in bacon and bake for 30-40 minutes until the vegetables are all golden and tender.
2. In a pot, put brown or green lentils, six cups water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, garlic, and boil it over high heat. After the boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.
3. Whisk vinegar, salt, and mustard; whisk all of the mixture in olive oil.
4. Drain lentils and remove all the bay leaf; keep or throw garlic away if you want. Then, toss lentils with half of the sherry vinaigrette (see in the article how to make it); add more salt, olive oil, and vinegar.
5. Mix radicchio with remaining vinaigrette to coat it lightly and arrange it on a plate. Put roasted vegetables and lentils together while adding more of the vinaigrette for a better taste. Season it with parsley, sea salt, scallions, black pepper.
6. Finally, squeeze tangerine juice all over the lentils and drizzle with more olive oil if needed.

Pros and cons of lentils

Health benefits

• They have a high protein level.
• They are a beneficial source of iron, folic acid, magnesium, and fiber.
• They are great for bones.
• They are full of active components called polyphenols.
• They help reduce cholesterol.

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Disadvantages

• Along with all legumes and some other foods, lentils consist of lectins, a type of protein that it’s recommended to avoid.
• For those who have dysbiosis and peptic ulcer disease, lentils can affect the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in excessive flatulence.

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In general, lentils salad with roasted vegetables is a great winter salad idea. It’s not only suits for a specific occasion, like Christmas, New Year, or someone’s birthday party, but also for a family evening gathering. If you ever decide to try the recipe from Melissa Clark, let us know your results!

This article is solely for informational purposes.