I have a fairly simple equation to my salad making that I follow most of the time. It is typically along the lines of greens + vegetable + legumes+ nuts/seeds. That's it, that forms the base for salads. From there I'll switch flavors, dressings, and add cheese. This particular tomato salad is no different. I like kale salads during the summer because the heat makes most other greens bitter. Roasted tomatoes are eaten every day, the za'atar is technically the seed portion, and black lentils are one of my favorite salad add-ins. The black lentils hold up well when cooked and also add a beautiful color to the overall dish.
This is the second recipe in my series about a hard to find ingredient: black lentils. As I mentioned in my last recipe, black lentils are a bit hit and miss at stores but a necessity for me to have on hand for salads, tacos, and stews.
I love za'atar in salads because it's such a lovely mixture of earthiness and floral. Plus, it works so well with many different types of vegetables! A few of my favorite swaps for this salad:
Greens: Swap out the greens. I know kale as a salad base isn't for everyone so use your favorite greens. I've also turned this into a grain bowl by cooking the kale and mix it with the tomatoes/lentils before topping cooked grains.
Roasted Vegetables: Use what you have! For the summer: zucchini, sweet corn, eggplant. Fall/winter: roasted squash or root vegetables. Spring: asparagus!
Vegan: Ditch the cheese or you can make a tofu 'feta'.
Disclosure: This recipe was created in partnership with nuts.com. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It’s content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week. |
Interesting re: black lentils, haven't used them before, beautiful salad, love to try new healthy ingredients, so thank you for the lentils and for the recipe!
Thank you for this wonderful salad idea. I partial to red lentils , but enjoy black too. You're they tend to cook faster and retain their shape quite well. Sounds yummy and love the color, although i'll sub spinach or bok choy for kale. Za’atar is indeed a versatile spice blend, but what you find in the market often lack the one crucial ingredient that makes the original blend so flavorful — real zaatar herb, and in good portion. After searching around for a quality mix like the one gifted by a friend from a trip to the Middle East, I found the best Za’atar from http://www.eatzaatar.com. Their blends contain 30% of zaatar herb grown in Lebanon.
Delicious! Everything came together well - I massaged the kale before adding the other ingredients which I think makes a big difference.