Cooking with diabetes

Nutritious and tasty, lentils great in salad

The lentil's distinctive shape led ancient astronomers and physicists to refer to it by the Latin word for "lens," according to Sheryl and Mel London, authors of The Versatile Grain and the Elegant Bean (Simon & Schuster).

Although lentils' exact origin is unknown, various cultures, including the Middle East and India, use its many colorful varieties as a meat alternative. For this Summer Lentil Salad, we're especially fond of the earthy taste of French green lentils (Le Puy), but they can be a tad tricky to track down, requiring a trip to a specialty store.

Although these quick-cooking legumes are basically interchangeable in recipes, green lentils retain their shape when cooked.

Lentils are rich in fiber and are a good source of protein, folate, iron, phosphorous and potassium. Adding cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red bell pepper pumps up the salad's nutritional profile.

Leftovers are excellent, and salad can be kept up to two or three days. For optimum flavor, add walnuts and feta just before serving.

Summer Lentil Salad

1 cup green lentils

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 medium cucumber, not peeled, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

Ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh mint

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

Cook lentils in boiling water according to package directions, until tender. Drain.

In a large bowl, stir together the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper and red onion. Stir in lentils.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic and pepper. Drizzle over lentils and vegetables and toss to coat evenly. Add mint and capers and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or up to several hours so flavors blend.

Sprinkle with walnuts and feta just before serving.

Makes 6 main dish servings.

Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 200 calories, 12 g protein, 7 g fat, 25 g carbohydrate, 3 mg cholesterol, 77 mg sodium and 11 g fiber.

Recipe developed for The Star by professional home economists Kathy Moore and Roxanne Wyss.

Food on 08/05/2015

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