Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad {vegan}

Name: Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1/2 cup French Green Lentils; 2 cups vegetable stock (or water); 4 cups mix of button and swiss brown mushrooms (sliced (300g or 10 1/2 oz)); 2 tsp olive oil; 1/2 shallot or small onion (finely chopped); 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped); 1/4 tsp chilli flakes (or more to taste); 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice; 3 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil; sea salt and pepper (to taste); 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley (roughly chopped); 1/2 cup rocket ((arugula))

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This hearty Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad is a nutritional powerhouse! Even better it only needs a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

While this may look like a winter dish, the tart brightness and freshness of lemon really brings this Mushroom and Lentil Salad into summer.

This healthy, light and easy mushroom and lentil salad recipe is perfect to bring along to your next bbq or summer picnic. Vegan and gluten free, and made from ingredients you are already likely to have in your fridge or pantry it’s sure to satisfy everyone!

In this salad, I’ve used a mix of swiss brown (cremeini) mushrooms and button mushrooms or (champignons). Really though you can use whatever variety of mushrooms you prefer or have to hand.

Meaty portobellos would be lovely as they have a richer deep almost meaty flavour. Making them worth seeking out. King browns would be great t00 or even a mix of wild mushrooms.

The secret to this salad is cooking the mushrooms over a high heat to allow them to caramelise slightly.

This recipe first appeared on Delicious Everyday way back in 2013. It’s been a reader favourite, which I thought worth updating as every time I look at the old photos I cringe. Check out the original photo below. Pretty horrible right? I know this recipe isn’t the most visually appealing, being but I think the new photos do it a little more justice 🙂

The key to lovely caramelised mushrooms is to not to add salt to the mushrooms while cooking them. Adding salt will cause them to release water and will prevent them from caramelising resulting in flabby watery mushrooms, which is not what you want. The mushrooms will release a little moisture as you cook them, but much less so than if they were seasoned.

You’ll want to cook the mushrooms in batches as well, to make sure they aren’t over crowded in the pan. I cooked them in 4 batches to make sure the mushrooms didn’t overlap.

The other key to this salad is seasoning. A simple salad, such as this, all hangs on the dressing. Season with a couple of pinches of salt, toss to combine, taste and add more until the flavours really start to come alive.

If serving this salad straight from the fridge you will need a little more seasoning than if you were serving it at room temperature.

Another tip I like to use is to cook the lentils in vegetable stock, to add a lovely depth of flavour. If you don’t have vegetable stock water will do, but I do think vegetable stock makes a great addition.

There are plenty of ways to dress up this Mushroom and Lentil Salad to make it your own. If you aren’t vegan add some crumbled feta, or even better, fry up some haloumi and place it over the top.

If you are vegan try adding thinly sliced celery or radish or replacing the rocket (arugala) with oven baked kale chips for a little crunch.

This vegan, gluten-free Mushroom and Lentil Salad is a healthy, light and easy salad that's perfect to bring along to your next BBQ or picnic.

4.85 from 13 votes

Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad

Serves 2 for lunch, or serves 4 as a side dish.

Course Salad

Cuisine vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 122 kcal

Author Jennifer Schmidt

Ingredients

1/2 cup French Green Lentils
2 cups vegetable stock or water
4 cups mix of button and swiss brown mushrooms sliced (300g or 10 1/2 oz)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 shallot or small onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/4 tsp chilli flakes or more to taste
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
3 tsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
1/2 cup rocket (arugula)

Instructions

Begin by cooking the lentils. Place the lentils and vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
Place a large ]frying pan over a high heat. When the pan has come to heat (don't add oil) add 1/3 of the mushrooms. Leave for 2 minutes before then give the pan a shake to flip them over. The mushrooms should be lightly golden. Cook for a further minute before removing from the pan and repeating with the remaining mushrooms.
Reduce the heat to medium low and add 2 tsp of olive oil or vegan butter and add the shallot or onion. Cook until slightly golden on the edges and return the mushrooms to the pan and add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned as it will taste bitter. Set aside to cool.
Toss the lentils, mushroom and garlic together along with the lemon juice and the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and add the parsley and rocket just as you're serving.

Recipe Notes

Don't slice the mushrooms too thinly. You want them to have a bit of substance and also you don't want them to dry out when they are cooked over a high heat.

Nutrition Facts

Mushroom, Lemon and Lentil Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 122 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7g 11%

Saturated Fat 0.997g 5%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.831g

Monounsaturated Fat 4.9g

Sodium 949mg 40%

Potassium 276mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 14.12g 5%

Dietary Fiber 1.4g 6%

Sugars 4.8g

Protein 3.28g 7%

Vitamin A 52%

Vitamin C 93%

Calcium 4%

Iron 8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More great mushroom recipes:

Vegan Mushroom Wellington

Mushroom Bolognese {vegan}

Mushroom Quinoa Burgers with Roasted Garlic and Thyme Mayonnaise {vegetarian}

Mushroom Bouguignon {vegan}

Disclosure
This post was sponsored by Australian Mushroom Growers Association. As always, all opinions are my own.

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