Warm Lentil Salad with Sausage & Apples Recipe

Although it’s not hard to believe that lentils pack a powerfully nutritious punch, I wondered if my kids would be as excited as I am to have them on their plates.  Turns out, with the right recipe they are!

Thanks to Eating Well magazine, the recipe below is now a big hit in our house.  Although it’s billed as a salad, I left out the arugula for my 2 year-olds and saved it for myself.  To them, arugula = leaves = trees = let’s go outside and play.  We’ll conquer salad later.

In the meantime, enjoy this flavorful dish.  We’ve had it for lunch and dinner and it’s lasted several days.

Warm Lentil Salad with Sausage & Apple

Serves 4

4 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T red-wine vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
3 links sweet turkey sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 C cooked lentils
1 small bulb fennel, finely diced
1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, finely diced
6 cups arugula or mesclun greens

Whisk 3 T oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Heat the remaining 1 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add sausage; cook, stirring often and breaking up, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic; cook 30 seconds more.  Stir in lentils and heat through, about 2 minutes.  Stir in 5 T of dressing and remove from heat.  Stir in fennel, apple, and celery.

Toss greens with remaining dressing. Serve with the warm lentil mixture on top.

Soure: Eating Well Magazine

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