This salad was inspired by a love for Simon Bryant's range of lentils, grown in South Australia and Victoria. Add a poached egg to turn it into a breakfast salad.
Emma McCaskill's green asparagus, fennel, lentil and labne salad
A combination that just works.
- Serves 4
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Ingredients
- 4 golden shallots, thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus extra to taste
- 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed
- 300 gm black or small green lentils
- 125 ml (½ cup) olive oil
- 1½ tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ cup roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced on a mandolin, some fronds reserved
- 80 gm (⅓ cup) labne
Method
- 1Combine shallot and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside to soften.
- 2Blanch asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until bright green, but retaining some crunch (30 seconds to 1 minute). Refresh, drain, then thinly slice on an angle. Refrigerate until needed.
- 3Add lentils to the same saucepan and simmer until tender but still a little al dente (15-20 minutes). Drain well, then transfer to a large bowl.
- 4Whisk oil, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl until emulsified, season to taste and add to lentils. Add asparagus, almond and shallot and lemon juice and toss to combine.
- 5Divide lentil salad among plates and top with labne. Place fennel in a bowl, add lemon juice and sea salt to taste, and toss to combine. Scatter it over the salad and top with fennel fronds to serve.