Meat Free monday can be delicious and nutritious! Lentils, kale and almonds are a wonderful source of fibre, with each adding their own package of antioxidants, fats and proteins to bulk up this exciting salad – @Bonapetit really knows how to put a spin on the sometimes-bland lentil! This recipe takes a bit of effort, but the results are so worth it!

You'll need (outside the basics): a medium pan/ skillet, sieve/strainer, peeler, baking sheet and paper towel, mixing bowl.

Serves 4

METHOD

1.Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil.

2. Pull the kale off its stalks and slice the leaves into short ribbons 

3. In the mean time, prep the oil

- (set aside) Roughly chop the almonds 

- (In the pan) Thinly slice the whiles of the scallion (save the greens) and transfer to a small pan along with the crushed garlic. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove three 3" strips of lemon peel (avoiding white pith); reserve rest of the lemon for your salad dressing. Add peels to skillet. Pour all the olive oil into the pan and stir so that everything is nicely coated. 

3. Your water should be boiling by now, add in the lentils and cook for 20-25 minutes until the lentils are al dente (they are awful if they're too mushy)

4. Go back to the oil, putting the pan on a medium heat. Stir every now and then until the garlic starts browning and the lemon peels start to curl (3 minutes) Add in the almonds stirring often, until the almonds are darker (another 3 minutes). Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the cumin seeds and red pepper flakes. 

5. Strain your oil mix over a small bowl then spread the mix over a paper-towel on a plate or baking sheet. Salt as you wish as leave to crisp up while you assemble.

6. In a bowl with your kale, crumble to feta or chèvre. Smash or halve your olives, de-pit  and throw them in with the bowl. Slice the scallion greens you saved and add those too. Squeeze the juice of your lemon then add in a 1/2 tsp salt.

7. Drain the lentils well and add to the kale mix with the flavoured oil, more salt and a 1/3 of the nut mix (save the rest for topping). Toss to combine. 

8. Dish up into your favourite bowl and sprinkle the remainder of the nuts per portion.