Sprouted Lentil Salad

Sprouting seeds and legumes is a fascinating process. I’ve always liked to observe my indoor garden developing. Lentils, fenugreek, alfalfa, daikon, red clover, chickpeas, and many more!

Lentils sprouts are among the easiest to prepare and to find. In every food store you can find dry lentils, and those are what you will need.
Black or green variety are both good. Red and yellow ones won’t do, since they are shelled.

To grow your sprouts you will need dry lentils, a glass jar with the lid and water.
You can start with a small amount like a cup. This quantity will grow at least 3 or 4 times in volume, so choose your jar accordingly.

One of the advantages of sprouting is that you will be able to eat the lentils raw. They become kind of crunchy and fresh, thus perfect for a salad! If you decide to cook them, the cooking time will be notably reduced.

Of course I appreciate the fact that the sprouting facilitates the bioavailability of nutrients like B vitamins,  vitamin C, and minerals. It also improves the quality of the nutrients.

Print Recipe

Sprouted Lentil Salad with Leek and Purslane

Prep Time5 mins

sprouting time4 d

Course: Salad

Keyword: leek, lentil, sprouts

Servings: 2 people

Equipment

• glass jar with a lid

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, not shelled (like green or black lentils)
• 1 cup leek, finely chopped
• 1 bunch purslane
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• something crunchy as a topping, (i.e. seeds, nuts or roasted chickpeas)

Instructions

Lentil Sprouts

• Wash the lentils thoroughly with cold water. Place them in a jar and cover them with 3 cups of water. Leave them in the jar for about 1 day or 1 night.

  After this period drain them and leave them in the jar, half covered with a lid. They shouldn't get dry but should have a bit of fresh air.

  Rinse them if possible twice a day (or at least once per day).

  After one or two days the sprout will appear. You can eat them raw when the sprout is clearly visible (about from day 3 to day 5 or even more).

  The lentils will triple and later quadruple their volume. Use a jar accordingly.

Salad

• Mix one cup of the 3 – 5 days sprouted lentils, the leek and the purslane (or other veggies like i.e. carrots or cabbage).

  Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper.

  Add your crunchy topping (I used roasted crunchy chickpeas).

  Enjoy!