Lemon-Dill Lentil Orzo Salad

Photo: FreshPickedSeattle

Ingredients

1 cup of dried French green lentils, preferably lentilles de Puy

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 pound orzo

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1 1/2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved, seeded if you feel ambitious (results will be more wate

8 ounces of crumbled fresh goat cheese

3 Tbls. of red wine vinegar (or more, to taste)

3 Tbls. of olive oil (or more, to taste)

Finely-grated zest of about 1.5 large lemons (or more, to taste)

Kosher salt and freshly-ground paper to taste

Preparation

Rinse and pick over lentils. Place in 2-quart saucepan with garlic, 4 cups of water and a couple pinches of kosher salt. Cook until lentils are tender. This seems to vary widely, from 20-50 minutes, so I recommend testing fairly often for tenderness and seasoning, adding more salt during the cooking if necessary. Once tender, drain well in a sieve and allow to cool.

Cook the pasta in salted water to al dente stage, drain and rinse with cool water.

Toss pasta, lentils, and other ingredients together in a large bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve cold or room temperature.