Picnic Salad Jars
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Picnic Salad Jars
Recipe by Magdalena Roze
Makes 4 x 750 ml jars - please purchase 2 jars
This rainbow-coloured salad is a hit at every picnic. I like to soak the lentils, cook the quinoa and make the dressing the night before so it’s easy to assemble on the day.
Ingredients
Lentils & Salad Components
220g (1 cup) French-style or puy lentils
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 large oranges, peeled, pith removed, cut into segments
1 small fennel bulb, shaved, fronds reserved
120g mixed salad leaves
125g goat’s cheese, crumbled
60g (½ cup) walnuts, roughly chopped and toasted
Dressing
80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
60ml (¼ cup) apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2 teaspoon honey
Pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD
To make the dressing, place all of the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and shake well.
Cook the lentils in boiling water for 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, rinse and transfer to a bowl. Stir in the spring onion and a third of the dressing then set aside for 30 minutes or longer to allow the lentils to soak up the flavours.
To cook the quinoa, rinse, drain, then place in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the liquid is almost absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest for a few minutes with the lid on.
To assemble, spoon the lentils into the bottom of the salad jars and top with loosely arranged orange segments, fennel, salad leaves, goat’s cheese, walnuts and the reserved fennel fronds.
Just before serving, pour over the remaining dressing, toss the salad and enjoy.
Notes
It’s best to soak the lentils in water overnight with a teaspoon of yoghurt, whey or lemon juice to ferment them a little, which not only improves their digestibility but also reduces cooking time.
Make sure you layer the salad quite loosely so that you can add the dressing and easily toss it in the jar. You can also make one big jar, if you prefer, or pop it in a salad bowl with a lid.
