Greek Salad with Lentils

I had no idea what to have with the arayes.  A leafy salad seemed appropriate, but uninspired.  Then I ran across some leftover feta and started scrambling for the rest of the ingredients for this.  All I needed to pick up was a cucumber and a couple of tomatoes, and here we are.

One of the best features of a salad like this is that you can make it ahead and it won't get soggy.  It actually gets better as the dressing marinates the vegetables.  I made the lentils in the morning and tossed together the rest as the arayes were cooking, but the leftovers were at least as good as day one.

1/2 C brown lentils
*1/2 red onion
1 cucumber
1 lb Roma tomatoes
2 Tb white wine vinegar
3 Tb olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 Tb Italian seasoning
*1/2 tsp dried mint (optional)
kalamata olives and *feta for garnish

1.  Sort and rinse lentils.  I found an unusual amount of non-lentil debris in half a cup, including a split pea.  Add water to cover by one inch.  Bring to a low boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are split, about 40 minutes.  Drain.  This can be done up to 24 hours ahead.

2.  Peel onion, quarter, and slice.  I actually used one of my gigantor green onions, since I had used the white part of it for the arayes.  The light green parts were still plenty for this.  Peel and cut cucumber in chunks, and cut the tomatoes in chunks.  Toss vegetables together with lentils in a bowl.

3.  For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, oil, salt, and herbs.  Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  To serve, either put in a bowl or serve on plates.  Top with olives and feta.

Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 as a side

Difficulty rating  π