Warm lentil salad with fennel, carrot and herbs

The warm lentil salad with fennel, carrot and herbs is rich in fiber and many important minerals and vitamins.

Nutrient profile: According to GDA guidelines, one portion of this high-fiber dish covers significantly more than 100% of the daily requirement of vitamin K and folic acid. Furthermore, the trace elements manganese and copper, vitamins A and C and alpha-linolenic acid are covered by more than 3/4. Some of the heat-sensitive ingredients are lost during the cooking process, which slightly reduces the amount per portion. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 3:1, which is a very good range.
You can find further information on this topic at the following link: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors.

Lentils: Due to their high-quality proteins, lentils are a very good source of plant-based protein (not only) for vegans. The different types of lentils, which are uniformly round and flat, differ not only in size but also in color. The Pardina lentils used here are brown and medium-sized. The cooking time is 20-25 minutes without prior soaking.

Fennel: Like celery, fennel belongs to the Umbelliferae family. The white to light green bulb is layered, similar to an onion, and has an intense aroma, which it owes to its high content of essential oils. The essential oils are also responsible for the health properties - such as aiding digestion. The green stems of the bulb are covered with dill-like fennel greens.

Ginger: Ginger has an aromatic smell and a spicy, spicy taste, which is due to the (spicy) substance gingerol, which is said to have anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. The substances borneol and cineol give ginger its digestive, appetite-stimulating and circulation-stimulating properties.

Mint: Moroccan mint is a derivative of spearmint. It has a milder taste than peppermint and is particularly suitable for use in food. Moroccan mint has a slightly peppery taste and a minty, fresh, sweet scent. It contains little menthol compared to most other mints, especially peppermint, but provides a very good mint aroma (one reason why we chose this type of mint).

Walnut: The real walnut, also called tree nut, has the highest proportion of alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid that is healthy for the heart) of all nuts. They are also rich in vitamin E, zinc (an important trace element for the liver and hair, among other things) and potassium (for the heart muscle, among other things).

Flaxseeds: These have a slightly nutty taste and have a fat content of around 40%. More than half of this consists of alpha-linolenic acid, which is why flaxseed oil has the highest omega-3 fatty acid concentration of all known vegetable oils.

Reduce salt and oil: We have deliberately left out oil and reduced salt for health reasons. You can find more information on this topic in the book we describe in detail: "Salt Sugar Fat" by Michael Moss.

Pre-cook lentils: You can pre-cook lentils and store them in the refrigerator for about 4 days. This will shorten the overall preparation time.

Lentils: Instead of Pardina lentils, you can also use other lentils, such as Beluga lentils.