Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing - A fresh salad featuring peppery arugula, mushrooms, radishes, clementine slices, savory lentils and a fresh lemon berbere dressing! A fresh spring salad at its finest.
I was inspired to make this dish after eating something similar at Green Seed in Denver Central Market – always a great place to check out when you’re in Denver! The dressing was so flavorful and the salad was fresh and delicious! We were visiting with some good friends and this salad was the highlight of our lunch.
Have you heard of Berbere?
Berbere is a traditional Ethiopian spice blend that usually includes chiles, garlic, fenugreek and warm spices like allspice and cinnamon. It’s traditionally quite spicy, so for our take on this yummy spice blend, I’ve toned it down a bit. If you have Berbere spice already blended, feel free to use a hefty spoonful in this dressing. Don’t let all the spices in the dressing scare you—it’s delicious!
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Lentils – A powerhouse of health!
Lentils are high in fiber and high in folate—45% of your recommended daily allowance! They also contain 127% of your vitamin B6 and 70% of your manganese needs per 100 grams! Not too shabby for the underestimated lentil.
They are an inexpensive source of high quality protein. And they’re relatively quick to cook.
Consuming plant-based proteins—like lentils—are associated with a reduced risk of many lifestyle-related health conditions including heart disease, cancer and obesity.
This salad is plant-based, full of spring abundance and makes for a great main dish salad or side salad. It’s packed with peppery arugula, juice clementines, fresh radishes, savory lentils and a spicy lemon dressing. Don’t let the number of spices intimidate you, this salad is super simple and is ready in under 45 minutes.
Ready to make this Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing? Let’s do it!
1 - Prepare the lentils. Add lentils, stock, bay leaf and garlic cloves to a medium pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer about 40 minutes or until the lenders are tender. Remove bay leaf and garlic - and save them for a homemade food scraps stock!
2 - Prep salad. While the lentils are cooking, slice radishes and peel clementines.
3 - Prepare dressing. Combine spices, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl. Add water and slowly whisk in olive oil until combined. Alternatively, you can combine all the dressing ingredients in a mason jar, cover and shake until combined.
4 - Serve. Combine lentils, arugula, radishes, mushrooms, clementines and pecans. Add the dressing just before serving. Enjoy!
Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing: Tips, Tricks and Tools
You don’t need much in terms of tools for this simple salad, but you’ll want an eco-friendly pot and mixing bowls.
Use homemade stock: Make your own stock with food scraps. Give those scraps a second life, save money and reduce your packaging!
Bebere is a spice mix so feel free to get the spices already mixed together! Just use about 2-3 teaspoons in place of the salad dressing spices.
We hope you love this simple Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing!
It’s plant-based, simple, and perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or side salad.
Love this seasonal salad recipe? Check out our other delicious fresh salad recipes like this Jicama Kale Salad with Citrus or our Fresh Spring Green Salad.
Did you enjoy this Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing as much as we do?
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"Believe you can and you're halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt
Lentil Salad with Lemon Berbere Dressing
Ingredients
Lentil Salad
- 1 cup french lentils brown lentils will also work, but may take longer to cook
- 2 cups stock chicken or vegetable
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves garlic peeled, left whole
- 1 bunch arugula
- 1 cup radishes thinly sliced
- 4 ounces brown beech mushrooms sliced, any small mushroom variety will work (like brown buttons)
- 3-4 clementines peeled and separated
- ½ cup pecans
Lemon Berbere Dressing
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ground nutmeg sprinkle
- 1 lemon juice + zest
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅛ cup water
Instructions
- Prepare lentils: Add lentils, stock, bay leaf and garlic cloves to a medium pot, bring to a boil and let simmer ~40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Remove bay leaf and garlic (I like to save them in the freezer to make stock).
- Mise en place: While lentils are cooking, slice radishes and peel clementines.
- Prepare dressing: Combine spices, lemon juice and zest in a small bowl. Add water and slowly whisk in olive oil until combined. Or mix all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until combined.
- Serve: Combine lentils, arugula, radishes, mushrooms, clementines and pecans. Dress immediately before serving. Enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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Ingibjörg Helgadóttir says
Very tasty salat
Libby Bloom says
So glad you enjoyed it Ingibjörg!