I could not imagine life without potatoes. They are my favourite vegetable in the world. Potatoes are versatile, easy to cook with and very friendly towards many ingredients. Apparently the love for potatoes is a typical thing for Polish people, but I believe we are not the only ones who cherish this inconspicuous bulb.
My friend loves them dearly. Her boyfriend fiancé not so much, so whenever I am visiting her, we indulge and feast on potatoes like there is no tomorrow.
This is one of the dishes we always have on rotation. It is easy to make, comes together fast and tastes equally delicious warm and cold.
You don’t need a lot of ingredients or a trip to a specialised store. The salad is also very forgiving when it comes to omitting or replacing some ingredients in the sauce. For me and Monika this is our salad for the late spring and summer, eaten with young potatoes, followed by a spritzer. It is our salad in the winter time, accompanied by a glass of red wine.
It is vegan, gluten free, filling and delicious.
Make sure to get salad potatoes. You want them cooked firm, not mushy and falling apart.
Best part about this salad though? Even my friend’s fiancé seems to like it.
Ingredients
- 1 large red onions or shallot, halved,
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 small cup dry green lentils
- Salt and pepper
- 3-4 medium potatoes
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup of your favorite olive oil
- 2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained, roughly chopped
- 4-5 cornichons or other sour gherkins, chopped small
- 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Start by soaking your lentils while you arrange all your ingredients. Even 5-10 minutes helps them cook faster. Rinse and put in a pot with rosemary, halved onion, bay leaf and 3 cups of water. Cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes. They should be firm, yet tender. Drain, get rid of onion and bay leaf, and set aside.
- Cook potatoes in a separate saucepan. Cover with 4-5 cm of water. Set timer to 15 minutes and bring them to a simmer. When it rings, you should be easily able to pierce them with a toothpick or knife. Salad potatoes will never be fully soft!
- When in doubt, take one out, cut it and see if it’s cooked through. Drain and set aside.
- I cooked lentils and potatoes together quite successfully too when I felt too lazy to wash two pots afterwards. It can be a bit messy but works the charm.
- Prepare a small bowl. Put chopped onion and red wine vinegar in the bowl, leave for 5 minutes. Add garlic, Dijon mustard, pinch of salt, some freshly ground pepper and olive oil. Stir in chopped capers, and cornichons. Mix well and taste. Add spices according to your taste.
- Slice potatoes in small pieces and place in a serving bowl. Add lentils and gently mix together. Add dressing and big part of the parsley. Mix to combine. Now you might need to add a bit more salt and pepper, depending on how did you cook your potatoes and lentils.
- Scatter the remaining parsley over the salad.
- Serve alone or as a side dish.
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