Lentil Cabbage And Bacon Salad Recipes

LENTILS WITH VEGETABLES AND BACON

Steps:

• Bring water and lentils to a boil in a large saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until mostly tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a stew pot over low heat. Add oil and carrots; cook, covered, until carrots begin to soften, about 15 minutes. Drain cooked lentils well.
• Add onions and mushrooms to the carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add bacon and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in lentils; cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes more.

STEWED LENTILS WITH CABBAGE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 3-quart saucepan or casserole over medium heat. Add the chopped half of the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 2 of the garlic cloves and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the lentils, water, chile, and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the potatoes and continue to simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the lentils and potatoes are tender. Add more salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
• While the lentils are simmering, cook the cabbage with the remaining onion and garlic in a wide lidded skillet. Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add the sliced onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the garlic and stir together until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cabbage and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until the cabbage begins to wilt. Add 1/4 cup water, turn the heat down to medium, cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender and sweet, stirring from time to time. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
• Spread the cabbage over the bottom of the pan in an even layer. Top with the lentils and potatoes. Sprinkle on the parsley, and serve in wide soup bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired.

LENTILS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Bring water and lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer (medium-low) and cook, stirring occasionally until just tender, 15 to 22 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking liquid (see tip*)
• Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until crisp but not burnt, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a towel-lined plate. Pour off the bacon fat and gently wipe out the pan with a clean paper towel. When bacon is cool enough to handle, chop.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Add onion, celery hearts and leaves, garlic, salt and thyme and cook,stirring often until the onion is softened and the celery is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the cooked lentils, vinegar, smoked paprika, pepper and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and cook, stirring until the mixture is hot and thoroughly combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped bacon, the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and parsley. Serve warm.

LENTIL, CABBAGE AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Place the lentils in a colander and rinse them under cold water, removing and discarding any damaged specimens or foreign material. Place the lentils in a pot with 2 1/2 cups of lukewarm water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, cover and boil very gently until tender, about 20 minutes for domestic lentils or 35 to 40 minutes for imported lentils.
• Meanwhile, place the bacon pieces in a skillet and cover them with lukewarm water, separating the pieces. Bring to a boil over high heat and immediately drain in a colander. Rinse under cool water and return the bacon to the skillet. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bacon is brown and has rendered its fat. Add the onions and croutons to the bacon and saute for 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until the croutons are brown on all sides.
• Place the dressing ingredients in a salad bowl and add the cabbage. Toss to mix. Drain any remaining liquid from the lentils and add them, while still hot, to the cabbage. Mix well.
• When ready to serve, add the croutons and bacon to the salad bowl, toss well and serve immediately.

CABBAGE LENTIL SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the lentils in water. Their texture should be soft but not mushy. Drain and chill at least one hour.
• While the lentils are cooking, combine the vinaigrette ingredients.
• Shred the cabbage with a knife. It's OK to use the green outer leaves, but avoid the tough stems.
• Slice the carrot into longish, very thin, strips. Use the carrot peeler if you don't have the patience for the knife work, but try not to bail completely and use the grater.
• Cut the pepper into small strips or diamonds.
• The vegetables can be combined and refrigerated, covered, ahead of time, or tossed at the table. Add the lentils last, and dress each serving (to avoid a soggy puddle at the bottom of the bowl).
• Of course, all the ingredients are to taste. Feel free to use your favorite vinaigrette, or to use yellow, red and green peppers, or to add purple cabbge. Fresh herbs are great, but remove the woody stems, and chop the leaves finely.

GREEN LENTIL AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Cook bacon in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add onion to drippings in saucepan; sauté until very tender, about 15 minutes. Add 6 cups water, ham hock, lentils, 1/4 cup parsley, and 2 teaspoons thyme. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer ham hock to work surface. Drain lentils. Cool ham hock and lentils. Cut ham from bone; dice. Transfer ham to large bowl.
• Whisk walnut oil, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard in small bowl to blend. Transfer lentils to large bowl with ham. Add dressing, red onion, celery, bacon, remaining 1/4 cup parsley, and remaining 2 teaspoons thyme. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.