Sprouted Lentil, Feta and Tomato Salad with Spiced Pita

The best salads balance flavour, texture and colour perfectly. This lentil salad has the lot and leaves you feeling satisfied not stodgy. I accidentally sprouted my lentils after soaking them and then draining and leaving them in the fridge to use in a dish the following day. That's how easy it is to sprout your own grains and pulses and increase the nutritional benefits when eating them. If you would like to read up on the positives of sprouting follow this link. https://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/01/why-sprout.html

Ingredients

Salad

200g feta, Greek style, crumbled roughly

1 cup sprouted puy lentils *

1 1/4 tsp Coriander, ground

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, loosely packed, washed and roughly chopped

1 punnet grape tomatoes, diced into 2cm sq

1/2 cup mint, loosely packed leaves, washed and roughly chopped

1 large or 2 small  Lebanese cucumbers, chopped 2cm sq

Toasted Pita

4 wholemeal pita

1 tbsp EVOO

1 tbsp Ras El Hanout* (or paprika)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Dressing

3/4 cup Yarra Valley Roast Capsicum Salad Splash

Method

Heat oven to 200C. Brush pita on one side with oil, sprinkle Ras El Hanout (or paprika) and sesame. Place them on lined

baking trays in the oven for 10 minutes or until crisp and aromatic.

In the meantime combine all salad ingredients and toss with half the dressing and half the feta.

Platter the salad and top with remaining Red Capsicum Splash and feta. Finish with some shards of toasted pita and serve the rest of the

pita on the side.

Cooks Notes

This salad would be perfect served with fish, lamb or chicken or you could dot it with boiled eggs and add olives.

*To sprout the lentils rinse them under cold water to clean then place in a bowl and cover with water overnight. Drain the water off and place lentils in the fridge in a covered bowl. They will begin to sprout within 24 hours.

Ras El Hanout is a North African spice blend with Moroccan flavour profile.