12/19/2009

Zov’s Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Original post Tasting Spoons

As a blogger, it’s very fun when a friend brings to a potluck dinner a recipe you’ve made before (and enjoyed) but haven’t made recently. Meaning this recipe hasn’t been on my blog before because the last time I made it I didn’t HAVE a blog. So I took the liberty of taking a quick snapshot of this lentil salad brought by my friend Ann N. at our get-together the other night.

The recipe comes from Zov Karamardian, the owner/chef at Zov’s Bistro, a very popular eatery in our neighborhood. Zov is also owner of Zov’s Bakery. There are several locations now of the Bistro, all here in Orange County, California. We’ve been enjoying Zov’s good recipes for years.

There are two versions of this salad – the one published in our local paper (a more simplified version) – and the one published in Zov's cookbook, called ‘>Zov: Recipes and Memories from the Heart. Ann prepared the cookbook version. I could tell because this salad has tomatoes, arugula and Feta cheese in it. The other one doesn’t. What “makes” this dish, though, to my palate, is the lemon juice. It gives this salad such zing. The lentils are the base, but really, the chopped vegetables are the main components. Yet, the lentils add a nice chewy texture to dish.

At the restaurants, Zov serves the simplified salad as a little tiny complement to sandwiches (usually without the arugula and tomatoes). The restaurant varies what they put in it – sometimes they add corn or peas. Whatever is in it, it’s a small portion – like about a quarter of a cup’s worth. Never enough. Zov suggests this also works well as a side dish to grilled meats. Yup. I know I’ve made this in the past for great summer barbecue dinners. This is one great salad, especially if you enjoy lemon juice. It’s also healthy since the lentils have great nutritional value, and extra virgin olive oil provides the only fat. This could also be a main dish if you enjoy this type of salad that way. Whatever way, you’ll want to save this recipe. And thanks Ann, for letting me take a photo of your salad!

Click here to view Zov’s Lentil Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette recipe

Click here to view original post on TastingSpoons.com