French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

I can’t even with this recipe. Gena from Choosing Raw is the author of Food52‘s...

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

I can’t even with this recipe.

Gena from Choosing Raw is the author of Food52‘s latest cookbook – Food52 Vegan. And she nailed it. Well, Food52 nailed it, I guess!

Not only is this cookbook gorgeous, it’s full of healthy cooking methods, ingredients and innovative ways to eat more veggies – how Inspiralized, eh? I’m excited to share a recipe from the book and giveaway a copy!

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

I’m a big fan of Food52 – their imagery, their writing, their mission, I always find inspiration there.

So, I decided to Inspiralize one of the recipes in the book and share it with all of you! In this “French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese,” there are cucumbers and radishes, so I simply spiralized them with the Inspiralizer!

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

Not only are these spiralized veggies easier to prepare, they add more heartiness to this salad and make it fluffier, prettier and more fun to eat.

And let’s talk about this herbed cashew cheese for a moment.

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

Wow. What I love about vegan cooking is that it forces you to be creative, since your ingredient list is restricted (ie no cheese.) This herbed cashew cheese really hit the spot – it has a lovely consistency, herbed flavor (an account of the Herbes de Provence) and that buttery, cheesy richness (on account of the nutritional yeast flakes.)

This cashew cheese is something I’ll be making over and over again – it would be great spread over cucumber slices, crackers, with quinoa or farro, whole grain toast, or in a salad, like in this recipe. It was easy to make – the only time-consuming part is pre-soaking the cashews, but all that takes is a little planning!

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

This is the headnote from the recipe:

This salad is inspired by that traditional combination of Le Puy lentils, walnuts, and goat cheese, with crisp arugula and radishes adding a welcome crunch and a peppery kick. In place of the goat cheese, I use tangy, salty Herbed Cashew Cheese. Making the cashew cheese requires some forethought, so if you don’t have any on hand or time to make it, you can omit it or substitute a chopped avocado.

The Recipe

French Lentil and Arugula Salad with Herbed Cashew Cheese

Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 ?3 cup olive oil
  • 1 small shallot minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 1 ?2 cups cooked lentils drained well (preferably Le Puy green lentils)
  • 2 cups firmly packed baby arugula leaves
  • 1 cup spiralized radishes Blade D – or thinly sliced, if you can’t find large enough radishes to spiralize
  • 1 cup chopped endive
  • 1 cup spiralized cucumber Blade D
  • 1 ?4 cup chopped fresh dill
  • 1 ?3 cup toasted walnuts chopped
  • Pepper
  • For the Herbed Cashew Cheese - use 1/4 cup recipe instructions follows below
  • 1 1 ?2 cups cashew pieces or a combination of cashews and pine nuts soaked in water for at least 3 hours and drained
  • 2 tablespoons large-flake nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
  • 1 ?4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 4 tablespoons water

Instructions

  • In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, shallot, salt, lemon juice, vinegar, and mustard until evenly blended.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the lentils, arugula, radishes, endive, cucumber, and dill. Drizzle evenly with the dressing, then toss or stir until all the ingredients are evenly coated. Stir in the walnuts and season with black pepper to taste. Dot the top of the salad with small bits of the cashew cheese (about 1?2 teaspoon each).
  • Serve the salad right away, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • The Best Way to Cook Lentils
  • Good news: lentils are quicker to prepare from scratch than beans and add great texture and nutrition to dishes. To cook them, start with about 1 cup of red, brown, or Le Puy (green) lentils. Pick out any that are discolored or shriveled. Rinse the lentils under running water, then combine them in a saucepan with 2 1?2 cups of water. Bring the water to a rapid simmer, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Add extra water as needed so that the lentils remain barely submerged. Simmer the lentils for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re tender but retain some chew. (Red lentils take less time to cook because they’ve been split, so they’ll likely be tender in 20 to 25 minutes.) Drain them, then season with salt and pepper to taste. 1 cup of dry red, brown, or Le Puy lentils will make between 2 and 2 1?4 cups of cooked lentils.
  • Herbed Cashew Cheese
  • MAKES ABOUT 1 1?4 CUPS
  • Nut cheese can be made with almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, or pine nuts, but cashews, with their buttery texture and mild taste, are perfectly suited to the task. This cashew cheese, which is soft and spreadable, is infused with herbs for a more complex flavor profile and nutritional yeast for a kick of umami. Spread it on crackers or toast or crumble it over a salad.
  • Put the cashews in a food processor or blender (preferably a high-speed blender). Add the nutritional yeast, salt, herbes de Provence, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic. Pulse a few times to break the cashews down until they have a wet, coarse, mealy texture.
  • With the motor running, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the water. Now it’s time for some kitchen intuition: keep adding water, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the work bowl, until the mixture has a good consistency. It should be similar to thick hummus—a little coarse, but smooth and spreadable. You may not need all of the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. (If using a blender, start on a low speed and gradually increase to high speed as you add the water, using a plunger attachment the entire time to keep the mixture blending.)
  • Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Stored in a covered container in the fridge, the cheese will keep for about 5 days.

 

 

with love, Ali

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  • This looks yummy. Will be trying it tonight. Now I have to ask... I was driving around in circles trying to find a parking spot in Princeton yesterday (no luck) and I could've sworn I saw you walking with a friend. If it wasn't you, then be warned you have a doppelganger!
    • Aw, nope! It must be my doppelganger - I was in California yesterday!
  • I, too, love the challenge and creativity that comes with vegan cooking. I love some good-old-fashioned baked tofu thrown into an easy stir fry, but I also love experimenting with baked goods!
  • The cheese part of the recipe isn't clear. There are no amounts listed. I've made vegan cheese before and they are outstanding, but never added herbs. Am very interested in trying this recipe! Thanks!!
      • Alas, it's still showing no actual measurements - the list numbers are there instead of how many teaspoons/tablespoons. For example, "11. teaspoons of salt" and 16. tablespoons of water." That's the part of the recipe I'm most excited about (I've been doing a lot of cashew sauces lately) so I'll check back later to see if there's an update. :)
      • Yay! Fixed! Thank you!
      • Outstanding! I finally got around to making this. My cheese wasn't as light-colored as yours but the flavor was incredible. I only made a 1/2 batch, good thing, because I ended up scooping it up with cauliflower and polished it off! It's THAT good!! The salad has the right amount of crunch and a little heat from the radishes. The dressing tops it off nicely. I'll spin the cucumbers next time to remove a bit of the moisture they add, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing. It's a great light meal!
        • So happy you enjoyed this dish! We appreciate the comment.
    • Outstanding! I finally got around to making this. My cheese wasn't as light-colored as yours but the flavor was incredible. I only made a 1/2 batch, good thing, because I ended up scooping it up with cauliflower and polished it off! It's THAT good!! The salad has the right amount of crunch and a little heat from the radishes. The dressing tops it off nicely. I'll spin the cucumbers next time to remove a bit of the moisture they add, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing. It's a great light meal!
  • I'm not vegan but I'm trying to incorporate more vegan meals into our rotation. Soup is an easier one to get past the kids! Would love to see what else is in this cookbook- your salad looks incredible.
  • I love veggie-centric recipes!
  • This cookbook looks like a great way to dip my toes into vegan cooking!
  • my favorite vegan recipes are veggie burgers and raw desserts with dates and cashew :)
  • I've always loved Mediterranean and Mexican food, so when I went vegan, I just kept making vegan dishes from those! It's easy to just leave off the cheese or make a substitute (like a cashew cheese! Gotta try this one!) or add avocado (always).
  • This looks so delicious! Lentils and cashew cheese make this look like such a nice Autumn dish
  • I didn't type my email in right above. But I still love a loaded veggie salad with hummus haha
  • My favorite vegan recipes are curries! This sounds amazing
  • I have had it on my list for a long time to make my own vegan cheeze. It's the one thing about eating whole food, plant based (aka vegan) that is the hardest. Thanks for the recipe!
  • My favorite vegan recipe is Pasta with cherry tomatoes and almond ricotta.
  • I like a good Portobello mushroom burger.
  • I have a few recipes I make over and over, with variation: chili with either crumbled tempeh, ground seitan, or couscous for texture, peanut/sesame soba noodles with chopped fresh vegetables and baked tofu, and peanut/almond butter no bake cookies.
  • Oh thanks for the give away, I'm tried a few vegetarian recipes such as the stuffed roasted bell peppers found here on this site, but I have yet to try a vegan recipe. I'm always looking for new ideas :)
  • I love making soups and nut butters.
  • I love making guacamole, salsas, any kind of bean dips! All veg!
  • Can't wait to make this cashew cheese!
  • I've been wanting to make more vegan "cheeses", and this looks WAY too good to pass up! :D
  • That cheese sounds amazing! I made one of my favorite vegan recipes last night: pumpkin curry soup with black beans. Perfect for fall!
  • I love a great veggie sandwich wrapped in a collard leaf and this time of year, I like a hot cabbage and veggie soup.
  • Anything that tastes good! I make a great zucchini 'pasta' lasagna that uses cashew ricotta: So good!
  • I don't know if I've ever made a vegan recipe, but I'd be willing to give this a try.
  • This looks super indulgent!
  • I love to make vegan recipes that don't use meat substitutes.. or tofu. yuck!! I love ones that center around veggies for that protein !!
  • I love making vegan Mexican dishes such as stuffed full burritos, fajitas and tacos. Butternut squash mac and cheese is a staple and so comforting too!
  • i love making vegan spaghetti squash and zoodles with marinara! or vegan pizza with cashew cheese!
  • I love making vegan baked goods since I'm lactose intolerant and possibly allergic to eggs. Even though I can handle dairy in small amounts I've really enjoyed seeing how you don't need butter or eggs for tasty desserts!
  • I love everything vegan! But I have a sweet tooth, so I enjoy making vegan desserts. :)
  • My favorite vegan recipe is a big bowl of roasted veggies - simple, but comforting and delicious!
  • I like to make banana ice-cream, smoothies, and roasted vegetables.
  • Lots of favorite vegan recipes to make, but the black bean burgers from Veganomicon are always great to make and share with people.
  • Everything I make and eat is vegan so i have a lot of favorites. Soup is in heavy rotation as the weather finally cools down. Tonight I'm making a veganized version of a soup from the Whole Foods website. It has farro, mushrooms, escarole and Field Roast sausage.
  • Don't know that much about vegan cooking but this book looks like a good intro.
  • I love the BBQ plantain and Tempeh Burritos from Healthy. Happy. Life. :)
  • I'm in love with roasted veggies. I can eat pretty much any veg this way, and it makes life so easy!
  • My 70 y/o friend/roommate and I are going more vegetarian/vegan and this sounds like recipe she'll love. As long as I have enough protein, I'm game for meatless meals!
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