Warm Lentil & Roasted Beet Salad
Warm salads get called side dishes because they are mostly vegetables, which is unfair.
A salad that holds its own as a dinner
Warm salads get called side dishes because they are mostly vegetables, which is unfair. What makes something a dinner is whether it satisfies, and firm lentils, sweet roasted beets and sharp goat cheese satisfy in a way that a plate of cold leaves never will.
The cooking is genuinely simple, but the assembly has one rule: dress everything warm. Cold lentils reject dressing, and cold beets taste mealy. Straight from the oven and the pan, they absorb the mustard dressing instead of sitting under it.
Beluga or Puy lentils hold their shape and keep a bite. Red lentils, which turn to porridge in minutes, are the wrong choice here even though they look similar on the shelf.
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Toss the beetroot wedges with the olive oil and a pinch of salt, spread them on a tray and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until tender at the centre and caramelised at the edges.
Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with the bay leaf and plenty of cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 to 22 minutes, until just tender but still holding their shape. Salt the water only in the last two minutes.
Drain the lentils and return them to the warm pan. While they are still hot, stir through the mustard, vinegar and half the shallot. The lentils will visibly darken as they take up the dressing.
Whisk the extra virgin olive oil into the same pan with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Add the roasted beetroot straight from the tray and toss gently so the wedges hold together.
Spread the lentils over a wide platter and arrange the beetroot on top, spooning over any dressing left in the pan.
Crumble over the goat cheese, scatter the walnuts, the remaining shallot and the dill, and serve warm — ideally within ten minutes.
Testing notes & substitutions
Roasting beetroot takes time, not attention
Wedge them small enough — about 3 cm — and they will be done in half an hour. Whole beets take an hour or more and are not worth the wait.
Salt lentils late
Salt early and the skins stay tough, however long you cook them. Two minutes before the end is plenty.
Use a soft goat cheese, not a hard one
A soft log crumbles into creamy pieces that fold through the salad. Hard goat cheese grates and disappears.
Questions we get a lot
Can I use pre-cooked lentils?
Yes, and it saves fifteen minutes. Warm them in a pan with a splash of water before dressing, otherwise the salad will be lukewarm in a way that reads as tired.
What if I do not like goat cheese?
Feta works, as does a spoonful of thick yoghurt. For a dairy-free version, toasted hazelnuts and an extra spoon of mustard give you the same contrast.
Can I make it ahead?
Roast the beets and cook the lentils up to three days ahead. Dress everything warm on the day — this is not a salad that improves overnight.
Dana Reyes
Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.
Keep cooking
More healthy & light
Creamy Tuscan Butter Beans
Charred Broccoli & Tahini Bowl
