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Spring has officially rolled in and I’m celebrating with this eye-catching Mediterranean puy lentil salad, which is beyond delicious. An easy flavorsome salad loaded with protein, fresh herbs, and a garlicky mustard dressing.
You can use any kind of dark or green lentils for this recipe, they work just fine!
I discovered this stunning and scrumptious salad in Barcelona many years ago, and I immediately fell in love.
It’s full of flavors, the anchovies pack a powerful punch and pair beautifully with the creamy eggs, all lightened up by a mix of fresh herbs! To me, this is sunshine on a plate.
It’s perfect to serve as a main, delicious for any summer gathering, and it makes a substantial salad to take to work!
What you need for this recipe
- Puy lentils or other green or dark lentils
- Eggs
- Herbs (parsley, mint, and chives)
- Anchovies
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Mustard
- Vinegar
- Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar
How to make it
(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Cook lentils for about 20 minutes and boil the eggs.
- Place lentils, chopped anchovies, chopped herbs and tomatoes in a bowl.
- Make the dressing mixing olive oil, vinegar, mustard, minced garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.
- Add the dressing to the salad, part of the chopped anchovies and mix well
- Scatter over the rest of the anchovies and crumbled hard-boiled eggs
- Sprinkle with fresh mint before serving. Enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES & TIPS
Lentils
Dark lentils such as Puy lentils (French green lentils), brown lentils, or Beluga lentils are perfect for this salad, they hold their shape and texture nicely. Adjust cook time to lentil type and start checking for doneness at 20 minutes,
Flavor
For many of you, anchovies might be a love or hate ingredients, but for me it’s love.
These inexpensive tiny cured fishes pack a wallop of big bold flavor, and they literally take this salad or any other dish to the next level. They are so hearty and loaded with Umami flavor which is perfect to intensify savouriness.
Plus, they match beautifully with the richness and creaminess of hard-boiled eggs. To add freshness, don’t forget tomatoes and fresh herbs, they definitely brighten up this delicious lentil salad.
Herbs
I’m spoiled with fresh herbs and I’ve got plenty in my garden, especially in this season. But if you can’t grow your own herbs as I do, substitute fresh chives and parsley with dried parsley or coriander (use a tiny amount like 1/4 tsp and then adjust according to your taste).
However, you might go for fresh mint anyway, it really gives a lovely freshness and you can deal with any perishable leftover simply using it in other easy recipes like this mint and almond pesto or this easy pea soup. Recycling, of course!
More lentil recipes?
Here are a great collection of 25+ green lentil recipes to chose from, plus a few of our fav family staples:
- Spicy tomato lentil soup
- Mediterranean lentil soup
- Italian pasta with lentils
- Red lentil pasta recipe
- Green lentil soup
- Swiss chard lentil soup
- Lentil tabbouleh
Lastly, if you make this Mediterranean puy lentil salad, leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating. I would love to hear from you guys and get your feedback!
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Mediterranean puy lentil salad with eggs and anchovies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 grams) dried puy lentils or other dark lentils (remove debris, rinse and drain)
- 1 cup (200 grams) cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 5 anchovy fillets, chopped
- 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 handful fresh mint, chopped
- 1 handful fresh chives, chopped (optional)
DRESSING:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp red vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced or pressed
- 1/4 tsp fine salt, or more to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch sugar
Instructions
- Cook the lentils in salty boiling water until tender, it will take about 20-25 minutes. Do not overcook. Then drain well and set aside in a salad bowl.
- Boil the eggs in a saucepan, cover them with cool water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat; when the water has reached a boil, set the timer. For this recipe, I boiled mine for 9 minutes over medium-high heat, they were perfect with a firm egg yolk.
- Make the dressing: whisk olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar or put everything in a screw-top jar and shake well.
- Add the herbs, half of the chopped anchovies, and the dressing to the lentils and mix well. Crumble the eggs on top and scatter over the rest of anchovies fillets. Sprinkle with fresh mint before serving and another drizzle of olive oil if you like. Enjoy!
Roslia santamaria
This looks super tasty!! I can’t wait to give it a try! It’s all delicious ingredients 🙂
Katia
Hi and thank you for stopping by! I love this salad… lentils, eggs and anchovies, you can’t go wrong!
Btw, sorry for the double picture of mine, I can’t fix it, it’s embarrassing! 😉