This week’s recipe is like a harbinger of summer, belying the cool, damp weather we’ve been having in Vancouver. Its salty, lemony-ness makes me think it would be just the thing to bring to a seaside picnic, provided shellfish was also on the menu.
The recipe calls for lentilles du Puy, but I was nearly out of those, so I used some organic black lentils I had on hand. I also used a tapenade based on Moosewood’s Olivada recipe.
My only other variation was an attempt to approximate the preserved lemons I needed for the recipe. I used this recipe, which creates a pretty reasonable substitute in half an hour or so. I used a whole lemon in the salad, but next time I’d reduce it by about half. The diced preserved lemon is added to the lentils along with tuna and chopped scallions, then dressed with a vinaigrette featuring mustard, the tapenade, and red wine vinegar.
Dorie suggests serving this garnished with a tomato and red pepper salad dressed with olive oil and cumin, but I omitted the second dressing and served it with a mixture of chopped tomatoes, red pepper and scallions. I liked the freshness of the vegetables against the salty complexity of the lentil salad.
It’s not quite time for picnics of any variety quite yet, but I’m keeping this salad in mind for sunnier days to come.
You can find many other blogged descriptions of this week’s FFWD recipe here: Lentil, Lemon, and Tuna Salad
One Wet Foot 
Reresa, you lemon, lentil and tuna salad looks wonderful – I actuaööy omitted the preserved lemons and went the lemon juice in the dressing/lemon zest in the tapenade route instead – otherwise, I believe, I would have eaten that salad all by my little self. But we all found it to be delicious (we are lentil lovers, so no real surprise there). By the way, the idea of a seaside picnic sounds more than appealing to me…
Have a wonderful weekend!
…that should read “Teresa”, of course…me and my silly typos…Sorry, Teresa!!!
I hope it gets sunnier there soon! We just hit a cloudy spell which is a nice break from the constant heat and lack of AC in the country, but I can’t wait to go on picnics ourselves!
Love your substitutions! That is funny that you used the Moosewood recipe for the tapenade and I referenced it in my blog but used Dorie’s instead! Organic black lentils sound divine.
Thanks for the recipe for quick preserved lemons…I will have to give it a try! Your salad looks yummy…glad you enjoyed it! I agree seafood would go very well with this salad! Have a great weekend!
Very nice!
We had ours with flatbread and it felt very picnic-like – especially using the breads as a medium to scoop up the lentils.
Summer is on its way 🙂
I can relat with the weather down here in Seattle. Your salad looks very YUMMY!!!
I’d say, “Come to AZ and enjoy a sunny picnic,” however, you’d fry. But we have lots of shade in the back yard and we did enjoy eating this dish outdoors. You are right, these would be great pairings with seafood and easy to travel to a picnic. Nicely done.
Teresa, Hmmmmm, black lentils, sounds good and a nice variation. Any Moosewood recipe is always good so I intened to check out the Olivada. With me, the more lemon flavor, the better I like it, but I only used lemon zest in this recipe. Threw in capers for the salt. As for salads, I actually never made the Quinoa recipe of Dorie’s. It must have been before I began with FFWD. I intend to check it out this month. Thank you.
I couldn’t find preserved lemons anywhere but of course when I was not looking for them there they were on the shelf in ShopRite, of all places. I substituted lemon juice and zest. Haven’t broken out my Moosewood cookbook since I stopped wearing Birkenstocks. I’ll have to give it a look.. some great recipes in it.
Very nicely done, Teresa! I love how you really made this recipe your own. This spring has been uncharacteristically cool in Southern California, too.
I will have to check out your substitutions when I finally get around to making this one. Lovely photos!
The black lentils look stunning, Teresa! I wish I had thought of quick preserving my own lemons, but at least I have the trick in the back burner for next time. I’m sad all my salad is gone now – it was a big hit at home.
I enjoyed this salad too – different, but good.
Your salad looks great – I enjoyed this too.
I agree this salad is perfect for a picnic! I can’t wait until the weather is more cooperative. You’re the first other person to make a stab at using preserved lemon in the salad. The recipe I used (from Mark Bittman) was slightly different, but also quick. I love the look of the black lentils and the rug in the background of your photos.
Your presentation is simple, fresh, and lovely. I want to make this one soon.
I’m a big fan of the Moosewood cookbooks, I’ve been using them a lot recently. Your salad looks great – I really like the platter you served it on. Glad you enjoyed this!