Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad – A Satisfying, Flavorful and Hearty Wintertime Salad
Focusing on perfecting this salad, I haven’t posted a recipe for a few weeks. But from the first bite, this lentil salad held so much promise. I wanted to spend all the time necessary to test and retest and refine it to get it right. Tonight, my beloved pronounced
Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad with Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette “Well done. Yes! You got it. All the flavors stand out, yet blend together.” This means a lot coming from the man who helped taste-test and eat through all seven or more earlier versions.
Wintertime, and salads are hearty
Colorful, satisfying and deeply flavored Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad plays the natural sweetness of roasted beets and carrots against a backdrop of robust and firm-textured French green (le Puy) lentils. The roasted carrots brighten the color. Fresh parsley, mint and scallions add freshness. And crumbled goat cheese gives a touch of creaminess.
Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette
But it’s the dressing, the refreshingly tart and Tangy Orange 
Mustard Vinaigrette, that provides the key to having all the flavors pop. It took me a number of attempts to get enough intense orange flavor and balanced acidity to stand up to the earthy lentils and beets. Red wine vinegar provides the acidity. And the intense orange flavor comes from orange zest and frozen orange juice concentrate rather than from fresh squeezed orange juice. A most delicious wintertime dressing well suited to roasted vegetables and lentils.
Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad
with Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette
Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad makes a hearty and satisfying
main course salad or side dish. Thank you, Saveur for inspiring this recipe.
- Because of their firmer texture and ability to hold their shape, choose French Green (Le Puy) Lentils for salads.
- It’s fine to leave the skin on the beets. However, wash and scrub them very well to remove any dirt. If you want to remove the skin, do so after roasting.
- It’s also fine to leave organic carrots unpeeled.
- Naturally Gluten-Free.
Serves 6 as a main course Printer-Friendly Recipe
Active Time 1 ½ hours
Total time 1 ¾ hours
Ingredients
Roasted Beets & Carrots
1 ½ pounds beets, washed and well scrubbed
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
10 twists freshly ground pepper
¼ cup water
1 pound medium carrots, washed and scrubbed (peeled if not organic)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Large pinch sea salt
Lentils
4 cups water
2 cups French green (le Puy) lentils, rinsed and drained
2 bay leaves
¾ teaspoon salt
Salad
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley (1 medium bunch)
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh mint
2 ounces crumbled fresh goat cheese ( ½ cup)
Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette
⅓ cup defrosted frozen orange juice concentrate
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon homemade cultured mustard or other whole grain mustard
1 ½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
1 teaspoon sea salt
Dozen twists freshly ground pepper
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare the beets: Remove both the root and a slice off the
stem end where the greens were attached. Halve medium beets, quarter large beets and leave small beets whole. Toss them with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon sea salt and 10 twists freshly ground pepper. Place the beets cut side down in a baking dish. Add ¼ cup water. Tightly cover the baking dish with foil. Bake 80 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the foil. - Prepare the carrots: Cut thin carrots in half lengthwise. Cut
thicker carrots in quarters lengthwise. Then cut the carrots in ¾ inch pieces. Toss them with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a large pinch of salt. Place in a single layer on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. - Prepare the lentils: In a 4 quart saucepan, bring 4 cups of water along with the rinsed and drained lentils and bay leaves to a boil. Cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in ¾ teaspoon salt. Continue to
cook covered for another 10 -15 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaves. Drain any excess liquid from the lentils. (Perhaps saving it for lentil soup.) Transfer the drained lentils to a large mixing bowl. - While the beets and carrots are roasting and the lentils cooking, prepare the Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette, the scallions, parsley, mint and goat cheese.
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For the Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette:
Place all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a 2- cup jar. Cover the top of the jar with a piece of plastic wrap. Screw the lid on tightly and shake the jar, emulsifying the dressing in the process. Toss the dressing with the hot lentils.
- When the beets are cool enough to handle, cut them into
½-inch dice. Add them and the roasted carrots to the bowl with the lentils. Put aside 1 teaspoon each of the scallions, parsley and mint. Toss the rest of the scallions, parsley and mint in with the vegetables and lentils. - Gently mix in all but 1 tablespoon of the crumbled goat cheese. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
- Just before serving, garnish with the remaining herbs and goat cheese.
- For the best flavor enjoy Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad with Tangy Orange Mustard Vinaigrette when just made and still slightly warm, or at room temperature.
- Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad stores well in the refrigerator for at least 3 days.