Description
A fresh and flavorful Indian Spinach Salad with black lentils, roasted cauliflower and roasted radishes. Caramelized shallots and a Tempered Seed Dressing give the salad amazing flavor, depth and crunchy texture. (Serves 2 as an entree salad or 4 as a side salad.)
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups cauliflower, broken or cut into bite-sized florets
- 1/2-1 cup cooked lentils, room temp (or sub chickpeas or brown lentils) see notes
- 5-6 radishes, cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 medium shallots, cut into thin slices
- 1/2- 1 teaspoon grated ginger (depending on your love of ginger)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste (or sub more lime juice to taste)
- 5 oz baby spinach, about 4-5 cups
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- fresh lime juice ( from 1/2 a lime)
- optional: garnish with 1/4 cup toasted nuts like pistachio, cashew, or almonds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 F degrees.
- Lentils. Set lentils to cook- see notes.
- Roast. On a parchment-lined sheet pan, drizzle a couple of teaspoons of oil over the cauliflower and radishes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss. Roast in the oven until tender, 15-ish minutes.
- Dressing. Slice shallot in thin strips, put in a sauté pan with 2 tablespoons of oil, saute 5-8 minutes on medium heat until soft and lightly caramelized. Mix in fresh ginger and salt sautéing for another 30 seconds. Scoop the mixture over to one side of the pan, add more olive oil, when it just begins to shimmer, add the whole seeds: coriander, cumin, and mustard seeds. Stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes until they start to pop or brown slightly. Remove from heat. Combine seeds and shallots with black pepper, cayenne, and tamarind paste. Set aside.
- Salad. In a large serving bowl, toss together spinach and cilantro with a teaspoon of oil, a few shakes of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of about half of a lime.
- Assemble. Spoon some of the shallot-seed dressing over the greens. It is ok if it is still slightly warm, wilting the spinach a bit. I find it best just a touch warmer than room temperature. Layer on lentils, roasted cauliflower, and radishes, top with toasted nuts. Add more dressing if you like!
- Serve immediately.
Notes
To cook lentils, cover with an inch of water or broth in a saucepan and add salt to taste. (A ½ cup of dry lentils will yield a healthy 1 cup cooked.) Simmer 20-25 minutes until tender but not mushy- time will depend on lentil size. Drain.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups -with Pistachios
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 202.5 mg
- Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.8 g
- Fiber: 6.1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg