A Healthy Lentil and Swiss Chard Salad

Our lives are much more relaxed in the summer time without the regular fall and winter routines. Part of the joy of being at the cottage is not thinking constantly about food and cooking. I tend to graze my way through the morning, nibbling on leftovers from dinner the night before, or eating small bowls of salad from the previous day, rather than sitting down to a meal. My husband doesn't cook at all, and unlike me, doesn't think about food. If I don't put something in front of him, he doesn't eat.

This week I'm making a small effort at making some healthy lunches using legumes. Yesterday I made a cauliflower chickpea curry, and today I have a salad made with lentils. I've mentioned in the past that lentils are not my husband's favourite foodstuff, but even he loved this salad. I'm still working through all of the vegetables that I bought last week, so I tossed in a few bits and pieces that I had leftover. This made a lot of salad and we had leftovers, which were really good the next day.

I used fusilli for this recipe, but you could use couscous, or even some leftover rice. I added some capers because I love something piquant tasting, but olives would work here too. Some lemon juice sprinkled over would be nice as well. As with all of these recipes, you can use any vegetables you have on hand, this is just a guideline.

Lentil and Swiss Chard Salad

1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 cup cooked pasta

2 ounces feta cheese

1 tomato, diced

1 tbsp capers

1 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bunch Swiss Chard, roughly chopped

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp marjoram

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook lentils in a large pot of boiling water and firm, but tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside and allow to cool.

2. In a large serving bowl add cooked pasta, feta cheese, tomato, cooled lentils and capers.

3. In a skillet heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

4. Add Swiss chard mixture to the pasta and lentils. Add olive oil, vinegar and herbs and mix well to coat everything. Salt and pepper to taste.

Difficulty Level: Easy