Ace's Adventures with . . . Brown Lentils

 

Sometimes I get an idea stuck in my head that I just cannot shake. I started thinking about a salad of brown lentils and grapes some time ago. I have no idea where this came from but I had to have lentils and grapes at the same time. I imagine some of this obsession stemmed from seeing countless Waldorf salad recipes and grapes were on sale recently. While I do enjoy Waldorf salad occasionally, the flavor is slightly bland. My favorite part is the nutty walnuts with the sweet grapes and crisp apples.

During my time of lentil/Waldorf salad reflection, I was looking through Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet (which by the way has a number of awesome recipes which I will duly review) and she includes a recipe for lentils with raspberries and orange juice among other ingredients. Maybe my lentil and grape idea was not so far-fetched after all.

Having never had lentils and fruit together before, let me tell you, I have been missing out! I am sure Puy lentils would be even better but I used homely brown lentils. Brown lentils have a mellow earthiness that complemented the sweetness of the fruit. The depth provided by toasting the walnuts and their nuttiness was an excellent addition. Shallots are just plain delicious and complement almost everything and added a savory component. I cannot describe the flavor of a shallot. If you have eaten an onion, the flavor of a shallot would not be foreign. If a yellow onion is shallot's loud-mouthed simple hillbilly cousin, the shallot is a suave, nuanced sophisticate. I wanted a vinaigrette that could tie everything together. I originally was going to use plain apple cider vinegar but I was intrigued by Silverstone's use of orange juice in her salad. Now I had the best of both worlds: the apple cider vinegar would echo the apples in the salad while providing a hint of acidity to the orange juice. This provided a second surprise to me. The flavor of the orange and the lentils were very tasty. I still am confused why that worked. Enjoy!

Brown Lentils with Grapes and Apples

1 cup brown lentils
1 shallot, minced
1 cup grapes, chopped
1 apple, cored and diced
zest of one orange
juice of one orange
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
salt and pepper (or red pepper flakes) to taste

1. Cook lentils in water until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain and let cool.
2. When cool combine lentils with shallot, grapes, apple, orange zest, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil. Mix together until combined and season with salt and pepper. 
3. Let marinate 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator. Just before serving mix in the walnuts.