Seasonal Recipe: Sprouted Lentil and Pea Shoot Salad

Sprouted lentils ready to go

Inspired by Mark's recent recipe, I decided to use my sprouted lentils plus some of my propagated pea shoots and devise my own version. As it's winter, I thought something along Indian influenced lines would be good, with a spicy dressing to warm things up a bit.

This salad could also be served warm, if desired. Use a little oil to quickly stir fry the ingredients (starting with the carrot first), adding the cheese and the dressing right at the end.

The chopped and snipped ingredients

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 125g lentils (sprouted weight, used fresh), mine were puy lentils, but any variety of sprouted lentil will do. Sprouted chick peas would also work well
• 35g cheese, cubed - paneer to keep with the Indian influence or whatever hard cheese you have to hand. I used a mature cheddar
• 15g pea shoots (approx 10-15 stems), freshly picked then roughly snipped with scissors into shorter lengths
• 1 large carrot, cubed

For the dressing (adapted from this vinaigrette recipe):

• 2 tablespoons (tbsp) vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• Generous 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• Pinch of salt

Method

• Assemble the salad ingredients in a bowl
• Place the dressing ingredients in a clean jar, fit the lid firmly and shake vigorously to blend
• Add dressing to taste to the salad
• Stir through so all the ingredients are evenly combined and coated with the dressing
• Unused dressing can be stored in the fridge

The final assemblage

Serves 1 as a substantial lunch, or 2 as a side salad. The lentils give the salad an earthiness, but as they're sprouted they also have a sweetness which combines well with the pea shoots and carrot. 

For a summery Mediterranean influenced salad later in the year, substitute e.g. feta for the paneer/cheddar cheese; a mix of halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper and diced cucumber for the carrot; and flat-leaf parsley for the pea shoots. Make the vinaigrette dressing as shown in the original recipe.