Lentil, Courgette and Mint Salad

One thing last year gave me was some time to concentrate on our blog and in lockdown 1 I loved having the time to cook lots of cakes and create all the foodie posts which we featured. With the easing of restrictions and work returning to a more normal pattern this has taken me away from doing these enjoyable posts so to ensure we can post regular food posts I have had to call in the talents of my lovely stylist friend, Claire Morgan! Claire is going to help me make, prop and style the recipes each month. All (or almost all) our carefully selected recipes will be healthy with the odd naughty treat!

This salad makes a great lunchtime option and is by ‘Deliciously Ella’ and like a great deal of her recipes it is SUPER easy, looks good, tastes yummy and is good for you so win, win!

We tried it with pomegranate seeds which gave the dish some colour, crunch and some added goodness.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 mug green lentils (100g)

3 medium courgettes

2 handfuls of fresh mint

2 avocados

4 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of 4 limes

Large handful of sunflower seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place the lentils in boiling water and allow them to boil for 10 minutes, then let them simmer for about 30 minutes until they’re soft, but not mushy. If there’s any water left in the pan, drain and then allow the lentils to cool.
• While the lentils cool, peel the courgettes into thin strips using a potato peeler. Pull the mint leaves off the stems and roughly chop them into pieces. Slice the avocado into bite-sized chunks.
• Place the cooled lentils, courgette strips, avocado and mint in a bowl and drizzle over the olive oil and lime juice. Mix well before sprinkling the sunflower seeds on the top.
• Try adding a variety of other ingredients to this salad to keep it interesting like pomegranate seeds, toasted cashews nuts, bean sprouts or thinly sliced mushrooms.

Styled by Claire Morgan.