My husband was on vacation last week and really wanted to grill a steak (for himself!) for dinner. When he made his special (out of the ordinary – for us) dinner, I made this special lentil salad for my dinner. 🙂 He ate it as a side dish too. I had orange beets from my CSA share to include in the salad, although red beets may have added more contrast in the finished dish. We ate the beet greens sautĂ©ed with CSA Swiss chard and leeks on the side. This recipe was adapted from Saveur. The dressing has a bright, wonderful flavor; I substituted Herbs de Provence for lavender.
- 3/4 to 1 pound beets, scrubbed clean
- 7 T olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups French green lentils
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 cups fresh orange juice (about 6 Valencia oranges)
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence
- 2 T honey
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (1/8″ mandolin)
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Rub beets with 2 T olive oil, salt, and pepper in a 8″-square baking dish and cover with foil; cook until tender, about 1 hour on convection roast. Let cool, then peel beets and chop; set aside.
- Bring lentils, bay leaves, and 4 cups of water to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until tender but not mushy, about 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, discarding liquid and bay leaves.
- Toast mustard seeds in a 10″ or 12″ skillet over medium-high heat until they begin to pop, 1-2 minutes. Add juice; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add Herbs de Provence.; cook until juice is reduced to about 1/2 cup, 20-30  minutes. Whisk in honey and remaining 5 T oil.
- Add beets, lentils, red onion, salt and pepper; toss to combine. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.
thebrookcook 
I just received a bunch of yellow beets in my CSA, which would work well with this recipe. I’ve had something similar but with quinoa – delish!
Yellow beets would be perfect. 🙂 The sautéed beet greens could be added as well.