When you hear the word ‘salad’ do you instantly think of pale, limp lettuce leaves and a few watery tomatoes? Well this salad is the complete opposite. We’ve included Puy lentils which are a great source of fibre (healthy digestion) and prawns which are an excellent source of high quality protein (working muscles) and healthy fats (heart health). For a boost of antioxidants we’ve added spinach and green beans and spiced it up with cumin, coriander and turmeric, and served it with a minty yogurt dressing.
Methods
1. Make your dressing by placing all your ingredients in a bowl and whisking to combine. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
2. Put the lentils, garlic, herbs and 11⁄2 cups water into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Add the beans to the pan and cook until just tender. Drain the lentils and beans, discarding the herbs and garlic.
3. Place the warm lentils, spring onions, 2 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, chilli, ground spices and coriander in a bowl. Stir to combine, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Place the remaining olive oil, turmeric, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the prawns and toss to coat evenly.
5. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat for a minute or so. Once it’s smoking hot add the prawns and fry until just opaque, stirring constantly.
6. When you’re ready to serve toss the spinach in the lentil mix until coated with the dressing.
7. Divide the salad among four plates, top with your prawns and a good few spoons of mint dressing.
Recipe Info
Serves 2
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Ingredients
For the salad:
1 cup Puy Lentils, rinsed and drained
4 cloves garlic, left unpeeled but squashed with the back of a knife
3 sprigs of rosemary or another hard herb such as sage, bay leaves or thyme
6 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small bunch coriander leaves
1 cup baby spinach
100g green beans, trimmed and chopped into 3-4cm pieces
For the prawns:
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
18 large raw prawns, peeled and deveined but tails intact (You can use frozen, just thaw them in the fridge a few hours before, and add a few more if they are a little small)
For the minty yoghurt dressing:
1 cup Greek yoghurt
Zest and juice of two limes
2 teaspoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons finely chopped mint