Beetroot & Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese & Walnuts (Vegetarian, Gluten & Grain Free)

This salad recipe is for a lovely lukewarm salad made with beetroots, beluga lentils and walnuts as the main ingredients. You only need a hand full of ingredients to make this salad and almost no effort from your end since the oven and stove takes care of most parts. Serve this salad as a main course, top it with your favorite protein or serve it as a side dish to your main course. It is vegetarian, gluten and grain free.

A lukewarm salad is one of my favorite things to make during fall and winter. I’m a huge salad lover and love to eat it all year round since they’re delicious, easy to make and adapt according to what’s in season at the moment and because you can throw in just about everything you’re in the mood for or have at home. Also the best part about salads is that they can be made in so many different ways, styles and combinations. For me the most important part is to mix different tastes, textures, colors and raw/cooked/baked/roasted ingredients. During summer I make a lot of raw salads because you usually want something fresh, crunchy, juicy and refreshing .. but when the temperature starts to drop I love to make salads combining raw and cooked/baked/roasted vegetables to make them more warming and filling but still keeping the fresh and light taste. This salad is an incredibly easy salad made with just five main ingredients that combines crunchy, soft, warm, cold, nutty, sweet and tangy flavors and textures. It’s great to serve just as it is as a main course, top it with your favorite protein or to serve it as a side dish.

A few tips:

• Cut the beets into equally sized wedges to make sure the baking time is the same for all of them.
• The baking time will depend on how large your beets are and how “al-dente” you prefer them. I personally love when they are slightly “al-dente” to keep some of the chewing resistance.
• You can cook the beluga lentils with some vegetable stock to add more flavor, but they are also tasty without.
• Use a good quality goat cheese that is flavorful and creamy.
• You can adjust the amount of walnuts depending on your preferences. You also swap them for hazelnuts, almonds or pumpkin seeds for example.
• Using honey/agave/fiber syrup is optional but recommended. Otherwise you can also top the salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil or make a fresh Dijon vinaigrette.

Ingredients for this Beetroot & Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese & Walnuts:

• Beetroots
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Beluga lentils
• Water
• Vegetable stock cube (optional)
• Mixed green leaves
• Goat cheese
• Walnuts
• Honey/Agave/Fiber syrup

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