Rainbow Garden Bowl
with Green Lentils and Apple
This bright dish gets its name not only from its colorful contents, but also because of the rainbow of flavors it contains. Fresh mint brings out the crunchy sweet apple, and spicy radishes are toned down by a Dijon vinaigrette. We recommend passing the dressing at the table instead of adding it directly; you might not need more than a drizzle given all of the delightful flavors already in the garden bowl.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup green lentils
- 8 ounces carrots
- 2 red apples
- 4 ounces yellow beets
- 2 cucumbers
- 4 ounces radish
- 16 ounces kale
- 2 lemons
- Pepper*
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 4 slices fruit and nut bread
- 4 ounces red cabbage
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- Salt and pepper*
- 4 tablespoons olive oil*
- *not included
INSTRUCTIONS
Rinse and sort the lentils, picking out any debris. Put a small saucepan over high heat and add the lentils along with 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-high. Cook, undisturbed, until they are tender; about 15 to 20 minutes. When they are done, drain the remaining liquid.
Rinse and dry the carrots, apple, beets, cucumber, and radish. As you work, move the vegetables to a large plate. Peel and shred the carrots on a box grater. Peel the beets using a peeler. Continue to peel around the beets to make ribbons. Thinly slice the apple. Peel the cucumber lengthwise to make ribbons. Trim and thinly slice the radish into small rounds.
Rinse and dry the kale; then remove the leaves from the stems. Stack, roll, and thinly slice the kale.
Rinse and halve the lemon. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon, the lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper; drizzle in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Whisk until smooth.
Put the slices of bread into a toaster or under the broiler on low. Toast until lightly browned, about a minute.
Rinse and chop the mint. Put a heaping serving of the kale into a bowl and top with the cabbage and vegetables. Top that with the pumpkin seeds, mint, and lentils. Pass the dressing at the table and serve warm bread on the side.