For most people, lentils conjure an image of a thick, hot soup perfect for an afternoon meal on a chilly day. Perhaps you may even be thinking of your favorite take-out Indian dish, infused with exotic spices and bathed in a thick stew, ideal for bread dipping. I, too, associate lentils with heavier dishes and colder months but missed them so much that I was inspired to introduce them to the summer season. It takes about a year for dried lentils to expire, and the bag I had in my pantry was dying to be used.

Lentils are considered a legume, or the pod of certain plants. They come in several varieties, including yellow, green and red, and their flavor intensity changes with type. Much like beans (a relatively popular member of the legume clique) their texture when cooked is soft and they offer an earthy, natural flavor but can easily adapt to whatever they are paired with. Aside from being delicious and filling, lentils are packed with protein and almost no fat; the fact that they’re always in season in your dried bean aisle makes them almost too good to be true. I have a feeling, though, that this recipe might downplay the health benefits lentils offer.

Lentil Salad

• 1 cup of dried lentils
• ½ pound of bacon
• ½ large red onion
• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cup of torn spinach leaves, packed
• ¼ cup of bacon fat (rendered from cooked bacon)
• 1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Pour lentils onto a flat surface and pick through to remove any debris or stones. Place in a pot and cover with two inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for approximately 25 minutes, until just about soft. Drain and set aside. Cook bacon over medium-low heat and set aside on paper towels to drain grease. Remove ¼ cup of bacon fat from the pan and place in a separate small bowl. Drain a majority of the rest of the fat, leaving just enough to coat the pan. Heat pan again to medium heat and cook onions for approximately 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 3 minutes more. Pour mixture into pot with lentils and add spinach. Cut up bacon into large chunks and add to pot. To the bowl with bacon fat, whisk in Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil until mixture comes together. Pour over lentil combination and toss. Serve warm or refrigerate for 1 hour and serve chilled.

The instructions on your bag of dried lentils will make you think cooking them is an overnight process, but I did some online research and executed a few “lentil labs” and found that cooking them as listed above works just as well. Towards the end of the cooking process, though, test a few for texture as they can become extremely soft, mushy, and unappealing for a salad. Though the bacon is crispy once cooked it absorbs some of the moisture from the other ingredients in the salad and becomes slightly chewy, adding more than just its salty flavor to an otherwise healthy salad. Utilizing the leftover grease to cook the red onions and tomatoes highlights their sweetness and coats each with any remaining particles the pork left behind.  Using up almost everything good bacon has to offer, the smooth and smoky dressing made from bacon fat tastes as decadent as it sounds and it is truly the glue that holds this dish together.

I experienced this dish very warm, simply because I couldn’t wait to eat it. Though, I did come back for more once it had been in the fridge for a good bit. Both were incredibly tasty, but I would have to say the warmth of the lentils and veggies enhances the bacon flavor in the dressing. Either way, you’re treating yourself to a hunger-curbing meal that just so happens to be pretty healthy – aside from the bacon, bacon-grease-cooked veggies and bacon dressing.

Casey Ann is a local foodie and blogger. Check out her recipes and reviews at www.cleanpl8.com.