Roasted Carrot + Lentil Salad with Salsa Verde (serves 3)

Ingredients:

150g puy lentils

10 carrots

1 handful coriander (about 30g)

olive oil or avocado oil for roasting

Salsa Verde:

1 handful parsley (about 30g)

1 handful basil (about 30g)

1 handful mint (about 30g)

1 clove garlic

2 tsp capers

120ml olive oil

juice 1/2 lemon

pinch salt + pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C. Peel the carrots and chop in a diagonal direction (it looks pretty!) about 1cm thick. Add to a roasting dish, sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper and roast until the carrots are al dente and just golden (they don’t need to be super soft, but once a fork goes through easily they’re fine - a little crunch is nice!).

Whilst the carrots are roasting, you can prepare the lentils. Put in a saucepan with a pinch of salt and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, then once boiling, lower to a simmer and simmer until the lentils are cooked. I would put a timer on for about 12 mins, then check regularly until just cooked. Again, you don’t want the lentils to be too soft, you want them too cooked through but still with a bite. Drain and leave to cool - you can rinse with cold water.

Prepare the salsa verde by adding all ingredients to a food processor and blend until you get a smooth sauce. Taste and add more seasoning / lemon if needed. You want to taste the acidity from the lemon but not want it to be too lemony. If it’s not smooth you may also need to add a little more oil.

Once the carrots are cooked you can remove from the oven and build the salad. You may want to leave them for 5 mins until warm rather than pipping hot as not to wilt and spoil the herbs. In a big salad bowl, mix the carrots with the lentils and salsa verde. Chop the coriander and add that too.