Colorful lentil salad with cucumber and olives

This colorful lentil salad with cucumber, olives and peppers provides you with a delicious taste as well as an extra portion of protein thanks to the matching dressing.

Puy lentils: Puy lentils come from Auvergne. They have a thin green-brown shell, the marbling of which disappears when cooked. Puy lentils have a slightly nutty taste and are a little firmer and less floury than other types of lentils.

White balsamic vinegar: White balsamic vinegar consists essentially of white wine vinegar and light grape must concentrate. In contrast to "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena" (not to be confused with the mass-produced "Aceto Balsamico di Modena"), there are no set quality criteria for white balsamic vinegar. Dark vinegar is usually made from blue grapes, although white grapes are used in the case of white vinegar varieties. The white variant, often referred to as "Condimento (Balsamico) bianco", is usually only available in good quality from specialist retailers. Alternatively, you can look in health food stores.

Green/black olives: If you have ever wondered why black olives are up to three times more expensive, this section of text may explain: Olives are naturally relatively bitter and therefore need to be soaked in liquids for a non-strictly defined period of time (usually several weeks) before consumption. Depending on the process, brine or a herbal broth is suitable. Green olives are harvested early and are easy to handle, as differences in quality are hardly noticeable visually. Black olives need to be harvested more carefully and prepared for sale with a stone. As they are fully ripe, the time until harvest is also longer than with green olives.

Spiciness: It is advisable to use rose-hot paprika as a spice, as recommended by the author, as the slight spiciness suits the dish very well.

Pickling olives yourself: Pickling olives is a simple process, but it allows you to use olives that are individually tailored to your taste. In addition, unlike ready-made products, you know exactly what you have on your plate.
Ingredients required: For the washing process you need fresh olives (green, black, mixed), a suitable container (jar, large PET bottle) and plenty of water. For the storage process you need a spice and herb mixture (pepper, rosemary, thyme, chili, garlic, etc.) made to your own taste and a marinade made from oil or salt.
Procedure: Process the olives to make it easier for bitter substances to escape. To do this, you can cut the sides of the olives with a kitchen knife and roll the olives over the work surface with a little pressure. Then put the olives in a container and fill it to the top with water. Change the water daily for the next two weeks if possible.
Storage process: After washing, the storage liquid is prepared. In the case of brine, you need 100-120 grams of sea salt for one liter of water (enough for 1-1.5 kilograms of olives). Boil the brine with the spice and herb mixture, let it cool and put it in a container (e.g. preserving jar) together with the olives. Apply a 1-2 centimeter film of oil as the top layer and store in a cool, dark place. It is important that all the olives are under the surface of the liquid. You can eat the stored olives after around 2 months. The better they are cut/crushed, the quicker the olives will be ready.

Peppers: The orange peppers specified in the original recipe can be replaced with yellow or red peppers, which are easier to obtain.

Onion: If necessary, you can also replace the red onion with a regular yellow onion, although the red onion has a finer taste.