Cozy vegan salad packed with Winter vegetables and ingredients such as beetroot, brocolli and lentils.
Ever since I've been working from home, my eating schedule has gone out the door. I always eat a decent breakfast but lunch is mixed with dinner, brunch, dessert and everything else that you can think of. Smoothie bowl for dinner? Sure!
When I worked in an office, I was in a simple-enough routine where I'd make a large salad each week and portion it up for lunches and dinner. Convenience and laziness trumped the potential bore of repetitive meals. In attempt to kickstart a similar routine, I made this wintery beetroot lentil salad.
I used these veggies for this salad, simply because I was doing a fridge clean out. Feel free to add or take away any ingredients as you wish. Other days, I would add mushrooms, spinach and maybe cabbage!
This salad is hearty, packed with real wholefoods and is perfect for winter because you can eat it warm! I've seen lots of other beet lentil salads but this one is special because it is vegan and satiating enough in itself without unnecessary dairy or meat added to it. It's simply a bunch of vegetables and legumes baked in the oven or boiled and chucked into a bowl with a dressing. Too easy 🙂
Wintery beetroot and lentil salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large beetroot, roughly chopped
- 1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped into florets
- ½ cup dried puy lentils, or ~1 can brown lentils
- 1 corn on the cob
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
- 2 cups kale leaves, or salad greens
- extra virgin olive oil, as needed
To serve
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- ¼ cup pecans
Instructions
Preparing the vegetables and lentils:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
- Arrange the beetroot and broccoli on 1-2 lined baking trays. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender.
- If you are using dried lentils, first rinse them. Add the lentils to a small pot of water and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain the lentils and add to a large salad bowl. If you are using canned lentils, simply drain the llentils and add to a large salad bowl
- Allow the beetroot and broccoli to slightly cool. Add to your salad bowl.
- If using kale, chop the leaves and rinse in a colander. Keep the leaves in the colander. If using salad leaves, add directly to your salad bowl.
- Boil the corn in a small pot for 10 minutes or until the corn is tender. Drain the corn in a colander over the kale leaves. The heat from the water will allow the kale to soften. Cut the kernels off the corn. Add the kernels and wilted kale to your salad bowl.
To make the dressing:
- Mix the tahini, orange zest and juice in a small bowl. If desired, add some water to thin the dressing.
To assemble:
- Drizzle salad dressing and scatter pecans over salad. Toss the salad throughly. Enjoy immediately or store in the fridge until serving.
Looks so tasty!
Definetely a must-try 😉
Aww, thank you! It was the perfect go-to lunch xo