Roasted Beet Salad with Lentil and Preserved Lemon (Recipe)

A white platter of lentils topped with a pickled beet salad, parsley and preserved lemon.

4.89 from 9 votes

Roasted Beet Salad with Lentil and Preserved Lemon (Recipe)

This beet salad with lentils and preserved lemon is loosely modified and simplified from a recipe in The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cookbook by Deborah Madison.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Salad Main Dish

Cuisine: Any

Keyword: beet salad, beet salad with lentils

Servings: servings

Calories: 391.7kcal

Author: Susan Pridmore

Ingredients

Beet Salad with Lentils

4 red beets (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided (or ¾ teaspoon table salt)
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup dried French green lentils
¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Lemon Vinaigrette with Preserved Lemon

2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 shallot finely diced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 preserved lemon

Instructions

Beet Salad with Lentils

Cook the beets. If using an air fryer, preheat it to 375˚F. Peel the beets using a sharp knife, and dice into ½" cubes. Toss in olive oil, and spread across the air fryer basket in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 - 15 minutes, or until tender.
Note: If using an oven, preheat it to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the beets using a sharp knife, and dice into ½" cubes. Toss in olive oil, spread across the baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 35 minutes, or until tender.
Cook the lentils. If cooking in an Instant Pot, or other electric pressure cooker, add the lentils, 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt), pepper and 1¾ cups water or broth. Lock the lid, and cook on HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. Perform a QUICK RELEASE. Drain any remaining liquid.
Note: If cooking on the stovetop, combine the lentils with enough water to cover them, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or ½ teaspoon table salt) and pepper. Cook for 40 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any liquid. (Or use this recipe for Green lentils towards the bottom of the post.)
Make the Lemon Vinaigrette. See below for the recipe.
Toss together the lentils, roasted beets and vinaigrette. Top with the parsley, mint and feta.

Lemon Vinaigrette with Preserved Lemon

Whisk together the lemon juice, salt, shallot and olive oil.
Slice the preserved lemon in half. Using a spoon, scrape out the pulp and finely mince. Finely dice the rind of the preserved lemon.
Whisk 2 teaspoons of the minced pulp and all of the diced rind into the vinaigrette.

Notes

Ingredient Notes...

Beets

Either red or orange beets work great in this recipe, but I use red for an earthier flavor.

Lentils

Use French Green Lentils in this beet salad, or Black Beluga Lentils since they both hold their shape better than Brown Lentils. French Green Lentils take longer to cook than Brown Lentils, and you can cook them on the stove for roughly 40 minutes, or in an electric pressure cooker for 8 minutes.

Preserved Lemon

If you don't have any preserved lemons, I recommend pickling the beets. This recipe, unlike most, uses both the rind and the pulp. Preserved lemons have a unique flavor that's perfect in this beet salad, and worth the extra effort to purchase.

Fresh Herbs

Top the salad with either chopped fresh parsley, fresh mint, or both. Fresh mint is ideal with beets!

Serving Suggestions...

Beets are a messy vegetable in that they "bleed" all over everything they're mixed with. If you make this ahead, don't add the beets until ready to serve. Otherwise the lentils will also turn red.

Nutrition