French Lentil Salad Forever
A bright lentil salad for not-sad desk lunches
My five-star, lemony grilled chicken breasts to pair with said salad, if you like
Plus, a BLT but make it pasta
French lentil salad forever
By Melissa Clark
Now that summer is in full, hot swing, I find myself making a lot of salads. Specifically, I keep circling back to the same cooling watermelon, cucumber and tomato number. It's an effortless no-recipe recipe — just layer sliced watermelon, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives; douse with lime juice and olive oil; and finish with flaky salt, chile flakes and a flourish of backyard herbs. Add some bread and cheese or prosciutto (or all three!) for a light summer meal that hits all those tangy, crisp and juicy notes.
This said, summer's bright diversity is inspiring me to branch out and try Lisa Donovan's nubby French lentil salad. Lisa's salad is a substantial (and popular) affair, made from French green lentils dressed with a honey mustard vinaigrette and tossed with crunchy vegetables. Hearty and satisfying, it works for dinner all by itself or as a side dish to grilled or roasted meat or fish. Like a watermelon salad, it's colorful and cooling; unlike a watermelon salad, it keeps extremely well. Make a big bowl for dinner tonight, and then eat it for lunch all week.
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And for more salad inspiration, peruse our collection of the 23 best salads of all time. The gang's all here: Leafy salads, hefty salads, fruit salads. Grab your favorite shallow bowl and enjoy.
Lemon and thyme grilled chicken breasts: Pounding boneless chicken breasts into half-inch-thick cutlets helps them cook through quickly and evenly before they have a chance to become dry, and marinating the meat with lemon, garlic and thyme adds bright flavor. After grilling, you could slice the breasts and then serve them on greens (maybe with some avocado mixed in) for a protein-filled addition to your summer salad.
Coconut-miso salmon curry: Many recipes using miso call for adding it at the end of cooking. But Kay Chun adds a dollop of white miso to the pot at the beginning, along with the garlic and ginger, and lets everything caramelize together. Then she stirs in some coconut milk to create a creamy, lightly sweet broth for salmon and spinach. Finished with sliced chiles and herbs, it's a fragrant weeknight meal that's a snap to make.
Tomato Cheddar toasts: There are many ways to put tomatoes and Cheddar on a piece of toast, but Ali Slagle's method is one of the best. Borrowing from pimento cheese, she mixes finely grated Cheddar into some mayo, and then spreads the mix onto hot toast, where it melts into a creamy, queso-like bed for sliced juicy tomatoes. I like to add a dash of hot sauce for a spicy kick.
BLT pasta: Colu Henry's colorful, easy rigatoni is another ideal use for your ripe July tomatoes. She starts by sautéing cherry tomatoes in bacon fat, and then stirs in handfuls of arugula for a piquant bite. A little Pecorino Romano makes it creamy, rich and wonderfully salty.
Watermelon-strawberry slush: My salads may have taken a short break from watermelon, but my weekly farm box has not. One very fine way to enjoy the watermelons that continue to arrive is Florence Fabricant's icy pink slush. With or without the optional glug of vodka or rum, this berry-filled confection works just as well at dessert time as it does at cocktail hour. For now, it's always watermelon o'clock somewhere.
And as always, you'll want to subscribe to get all these summery, salad-y recipes, along with the thousands of others. If you need any technical help, the brilliant people at cookingcare@nytimes.com are there for you. And you can find me at hellomelissa@nytimes.com.
That's all for now. See you on Monday.
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