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Cucumber Lentil Salad recipe
Cucumber Lentil Salad recipe

Cucumber Lentil Salad

by Adrianna Adarme on Oct 2, 2014

This cucumber lentil salad recipe has a flavor similar to tzatiki. (Recipe Courtesy of Adrianne Adarme of the Fresh Tastes Blog).
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Servings
4 to 6 servings (as a salad)
Course
Salad

Tags

Cookout July 4th Picnic
Cooking with Kids Family Friendly Healthy Quick and Easy Vegetarian

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Ingredients

  • ½ cup dried lentils
  • ½ red onion, thinly sliced 
  • 1 large hot house cucumber (or 3 persian cucumbers), diced
  • 1 bunch of dill, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
  • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, add the lentils, a few pinches of salt and enough water to cover lentils by a few inches. Turn the heat to medium and cover the pot, cooking the lentils for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender. Drain the lentils and set aside to cool. 
  2. In a large bowl, add yogurt, lemon juice and a few pinches of salt. Mix until combined. Add the dill, diced cucumber and nearly cooled lentils. Toss together until completely combined. Give it a taste and adjust the salt or lemon juice to your liking. Serve immediately.

I'm on a bit of a health kick. Don't worry because soon we'll all be knee-deep in Halloween candy, mashed potatoes and gravy, and then December will happen and we'll be eating cookies. It'll all happen in no time. I guess this is me enjoying the calm before the storm.

This combination is classic: fresh dill, diced cucumber and lots of yogurt and lemon. Its very tzatziki-esque, tart and refreshing. This salad is made into a bit of a fuller kind of meal by folding in tender lentils. Growing up, I despised lentils. Whenever it appeared on the dinner table, it meant that my parents were trying to be frugal. They're a very humble bean.

Lentils take very little time to prepare. You can soak them overnight if you want, but it's definitely not required. They're inexpensive (I bought this amount for less than a $1) and they can be stored in your pantry pretty much indefinitely. The one thing that you need to consider when making this salad is that the longer it sits, the more the cucumbers let go of their water, so I suggest mixing it all together just before serving.

Photo of Adrianna Adarme

About the Author
Adrianna Adarme

Adrianna Adarme is an author, enthusiastic home cook and food blogger who lives in Los Angeles, California. In 2009 she started her blog, A Cozy Kitchen, which has become a place people visit to hear entertaining anecdotes about daily life and to find delicious, comforting recipes from Adrianna's kitchen. A Cozy Kitchen has garnered attention from various publications and blogs, including features and write-ups from The Los Angeles Times, Refinery29, Saveur Magazine, Oh Joy, Rachel Zoe's Zoe Report and NBC Latino.

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