Warm Lentil Salad with Grapes, Feta, and Mint

The first time I served this to Josh he had a totally repugnant look upon his face. “What are those?” he asked warily while poking a grape with his fork. After I informed him they were grapes he retorted that he hates grapes and proceeded to pick them all out (BTW, Josh is my husband, not a child as some of you may have assumed). Fortunately he missed a few grapes, because as he ate he realized the salad was actually quite tasty. “What’s that sweet and tangy thing in there?” he asked between mouthfuls. He was shocked to learn it was indeed the grapes that provided that amazing flavor burst.


Green eggs and ham all over again!

To this day Josh still asks me to make that “grape salad.” It’s one of his favorites. It’s a little time consuming with the cleaning and chopping of the ingredients, but well worth it! I highly recommend giving it a try.

Note: this is a slight modification of a recipe originally found on vegetariantimes.com

Warm Lentil Salad with Grapes, Feta, and Mint

Ingredient List

Serves 4

• 3 Tbs. olive oil

• 2 leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (1 3/4 cups)

• 2 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar

• 2 tsp. whole-grain or Dijon mustard

• 2-3 cups cooked lentils

• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved

• 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios

• 3 Tbs. finely chopped mint

• 3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

Directions

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, and cook 7 to 9 minutes, or until tender and translucent, stirring often. Mix together then stir in vinegar and mustard.



2. Combine lentils, leek mixture, grapes, pistachios, mint, and parsley in large bowl. OR if your skillet is large enough add all ingredients to the skillet and toss for just a moment until all ingredients are warmed through.



Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and top with crumbled feta.