Instant Pot French lentil salad
Tender lentils soaked in a sharp mustard shallot dressing with crunchy carrot, celery and parsley, a cheap lunch that keeps 4 days in the fridge.
- 40 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.04 a serving
- 410 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups lentils
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 bay leave
- 1¼ tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 410 calories, 19 g protein, 52 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $1.04 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the lentils in a strainer and pick out any tiny stones.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Put the lentils, 3 cups of water, the bay leaf, garlic and ½ teaspoon salt in the Instant Pot. Lock the lid, turn the valve to sealing and pressure cook on HIGH for 7 minutes.
Timer: 7 min
Let the pressure come down on its own for 5 minutes, then vent the rest. the lentils and pick out the bay leaf and garlic.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: They should be tender but still whole. If a few split, that is fine for salad.In a big bowl, the shallot into the vinegar and leave it 5 minutes, then in the mustard, oil, pepper and the rest of the salt.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Sitting in vinegar takes the harsh bite out of raw shallot.Tip the warm lentils into the dressing and . Let them cool for 10 minutes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Warm lentils soak up the dressing, so every one is seasoned all the way through.Finely the carrots and celery and the parsley.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the vegetables into the lentils and scatter the goat cheese over the top.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: It keeps 4 days in the fridge and is great cold, so it is an easy work lunch. Stir it before packing because the dressing settles.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
