Hearty French lentils are cooked and tossed into a chilled cucumber salad with chopped parsley, high-quality olive oil, and lime juice with creamy feta crumbled over top. It has such bright flavors! The perfect potluck salad, side dish for a barbecue, or make-ahead weekday lunch.
Whenever I've got an all-day shoot and need quick fuel, I always grab the same pre-packaged lentil salad. It's prepared locally and sold at nearly all the markets I frequent.
This cucumber lentil salad with feta shared here is my interpretation of it, except with my own vegetable medley, french lentils, and way more feta (necessary).
For the first test of this at-home version, I filled a bulk bag with "large green lentils" only to disappointingly discover that they didn't hold their shape when cooked through. The salad was tasty, but the lentils were a big ugly beige-y brown mess. So if you want your salad to dress to impress, French green lentils are where it's at. They're more petite and, in part because they take less time to cook, they hold their shape better. The result is a rich lentil with less of the earthy mouthfeel you get from other lentils. This gives them the ideal aesthetic, texture, and flavor combo for this cucumber lentil salad.
While the French lentils are the backbone to this salad, the feta is the icing that gives it a creamy tang to tie it all together. Not just any feta, I'm partial to French feta. It's more mild and creamy, almost like a chevré, but with a better crumble. Before discovering French feta, I thought I wasn't a fan. I didn't hate feta - I'd eat it - I just didn't prefer it or buy it. Now? Well now I've always got a block on hand.
In sum: French lentils + French feta = a perfect match. Extra feta. Once you've got that power couple, just add in a little salt, lime juice, parsley and your favorite raw or blanched veggies for a salad to get you through a busy work week (it'll last several days and taste even better as it mingles in the fridge!).
It turns out I dig what the French are laying down. Which is a good thing too because......drumroll......
WE JUST BOOKED FLIGHTS TO EUROPE!
More specifically, Paris and Lisbon. Lucas has a conference in Lisbon in November, so Zo and I are tagging along and adding on a stopover in Paris on either end for fun. My parents will meet us for a few nights in Lisbon and the second half of our Paris stay, so hopefully we'll even get a couple dinners out just the two of us after the kid goes to bed.
Lucas has never been to Europe and the last time I was there was 15 years ago on an organized high school trip across Spain and France. Surely Paris will seem exactly the same in my thirties with a toddler in tow as it did when I was a high school senior.
Among three dozen teenagers, Chad and I were the lone French students on that trip. All our friends spoke (high school level) Spanish all through Spain and we proudly geared up for our role as full-time translators once we crossed the border into France. Except nearly everyone we spoke to in French, replied to us in English. Womp womp. My last French lesson was 14 years ago, so I don't imagine I'll fare any better this time around.
Back then our parents signed permission slips so we could order sangria at dinner and go to the discotheque past our curfew. Come to think of it, this trip will basically be the same - asking my parents for permission to go out on the town past toddler bedtime while they babysit.
Now I'd love to hear all of your tips, secrets, and hidden gems for either Paris or Lisbon! Important things like:
- What should we do, see, eat? (Both toddler-friendly places and fancy date night spots)
- Europe travel tips?
- What's the best way to entertain an almost 2-year-old on a 10 hour flight? (One listicle I read suggested bubble wrap. I thought I'd bring that, maybe a roll of tinfoil, and a set of tambourines. Sounds good, right?)
- How crazy are we to bring a stroller through the congested streets of Le Marais and the hilly blocks of Lisbon?
- How do we get our kid to not be terrified of the shower between now and our shower-only apartment stays?
- Pro tips for dining out in either place with a toddler?
On second thought, we've probably got that last one covered: Zoella once pulled a tablecloth off at a restaurant, so I'm sure it'll be fiiiine (joking - please help).
One things certain: I'll be packing this cucumber lentil salad as our plane food.
Recipe
Easy Cucumber Lentil Salad with Feta
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 cup French style green lentils, rinsed and picked over
- 3 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise then sliced ¼-inch thick
- 6 small breakfast radishes, halved then thinly sliced
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons finely chopped curly leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1-2 limes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½-1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
- 2½ ounces French feta, crumbled
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped shallot and cook, stirring, until the shallot begins to soften, 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic slices and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the lentils, water, bay leaf, and pepper. Bring to a rapid simmer over high heat then reduce to low and let gently simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft but not yet falling apart. Add more water as needed to make sure the lentils are always submerged.
- Drain the lentils and transfer to a medium bowl, removing the bay leaves. Refrigerate until completely cool (I cook mine the night before).
- When the lentils are cool, add the chopped cucumbers, radishes, and parsley. Toss in the lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, and ½ teaspoon salt. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Serve with feta crumbled over the top or tossed into the salad.
Jess -
This salad looks so good Sarah! I've never actually cooked with green lentils not from a can but it love the idea of cooking them with all the flavouring I'm sure it makes them taste amazing!
Can't wait to try it out!
Emily -
Made this yesterday for a BBQ and it was delicious. Everyone raved about it!
Sarah Menanix -
This makes me SO HAPPY! I'm so glad that you made it and that everyone loved it! Thank you for coming back to share that!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean -
Those lentils... Sarah! I just discovered French Lentils a few years ago. I DO love how they hold their shape and texture. They taste so earthy and are an excellent companion to salty feta... what a delicious and gorgeous salad! Hooray for Europe! Hooray!!
Sasha Swerdloff -
Love this simple salad idea. Seems perfect for traveling....
Amanda -
Absolutely so excited for you to go to Paris. a. I don't think you are crazy to bring a stroller. There's plenty of room on sidewalks, and you can always take a less busy street.
B. You must eat at Brezih Cafe, a buckwheat crepe and cider house. So so good. But make reservations a few days in advance. And the Chambelland GF bakery. Will never be anything better.
Sarah Menanix -
Yes!! Both of those are must-dos on my list - can't wait! Yay! Thank you!!!
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen -
ah your trip is going to be amazing!!! in terms of sleeping on the plane...I know my parents used to 'drug' us with sleeping pills/liquid or something on long term flights so we would sleep the whole time - probably not PC but it worked haha. I haven't been to Lisbon but Paris is now one of my favourite cities in the world - a few tips in a blog post a few weeks ago!
Sarah Menanix -
Oh don't worry - I already combed through your post and took notes in my spreadsheet - we are also staying in Le Marais! Thanks for all the Paris tips!! (Also LOL at drugging you guys!)
Malcolm -
Re: Almost 2 year old on 10 hour airplane flight. This may help. Type in--- "Calming crying baby on airplane" in the little search window at the top right-hand part of your monitor screen. There is a ton of info there, some of which may be of use to you.
Sarah Menanix -
LOL - Yeah I started on google. That's where I found the fabulous bubble wrap idea. Bahahaha.
michelle @ hummingbird high -
yay!!! i'm so excited for your mini eurotrip, you guys are going to have a blast. lisbon is beautiful and an underrated gem amongst americans (though i'm starting to see a lot of the more cutting edge bloggers start to visit it now... you wait, it'll be the next iceland or something).
this salad also looks tasty but really i'm here to squeal about your eurotrip lol.
Sarah Menanix -
I'm SO excited to have all your recs as our starting point for Lisbon! I haven't even gotten to my Lisbon spreadsheet yet, but you better be prepared for even more questions once I do!! (Woah - the next Iceland? I'll be so hip.)