Colorful lentil salad with peppermint and parsley

Peppermint and lemon give this colorful lentil salad with parsley and tomatoes its fresh note.

Nutrient profile: Thanks to the parsley, this dish has a very high vitamin K content. According to GDA guidelines, one portion of this recipe covers several times the average daily requirement of this vitamin, which is important for blood clotting and bone metabolism. This dish covers more than 100% of the requirement for copper, lysine, tryptophan, threonine, folic acid and vitamin C. The ratio between linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is 4:1, below the recommended maximum ratio of 5:1.

Red and yellow lentils: Due to their high-quality proteins, lentils are a very good source of plant-based protein for vegans. However, you should be aware that they contain only a relatively small amount of the essential amino acid methionine, for example, which is why combining them with rice or beans in some dishes balances things out. The different types of lentils, which are uniformly round and flat, differ not only in size but also in color. Red and yellow lentils come from India and are particularly well known from the national dish dal. Because they are peeled, they cook and fall apart more quickly. Soaking them beforehand is therefore not necessary. Because they are not peeled, they absorb the flavor of spices particularly well. In terms of taste, they differ in that the red lentils taste quite mild to sweet, while the yellow lentils are a little more bitter.

Parsley: Using fresh parsley is a great way to add some extra flavor to your dishes. Parsley is a source of flavonoids, antioxidants and vitamins, especially vitamins K, C and A, making this culinary herb suitable for more than just a garnish.

Peppermint: Fresh peppermint as a tea or seasoning is much more intense than dried peppermint. The essential oil menthol can also have a pain-relieving and cooling effect. However, its effectiveness is only weak. It gives dishes a pleasant freshness.

Prepare lentils until al dente: For the salad, lentils should be taken off the stove when they are still slightly al dente, i.e. before they start to fall apart. Then rinse immediately in a sieve with cold water. This is good for both the appearance and the taste. (Gabriele Verlag)

Oil: We have reduced the specified amount of olive oil by half. Instead of olive oil, you can also use rapeseed oil, as this has a better ratio of omega-6 (LA) to omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) than the olive oil used in the recipe. For comparison, olive oil has an LA:ALA ratio of 11-12:1, whereas the ratio of the two fatty acids in rapeseed oil is just over 2:1. Read more about this: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors.

Vegan vegetable stock: As an alternative to low-salt vegetable broth, you can also use a vegan vegetable stock. You can find a recipe under the following link: Vegan vegetable stock.
Depending on how concentrated it is, you will need to adjust the quantities accordingly.