Bonus Recipe: Lentil Salsa
Dip your chips into this!
My mom has been making lentil salsa every summer for as long as I can remember. It’s a family favorite and a recipe that’s frequently requested by friends. If you hang out with the Meiers for any amount of time during the summer, you’re going to find yourself dipping a chip into lentil salsa.
This hearty salsa combines lentils with chopped tomatoes and onion, cilantro, canned green chiles, a drizzle of vinegar and a big squeeze of fresh lime. It’s zesty, not spicy, although you can add jalapeño if you want.
This is an appetizer that you’ll want to make early in the morning, so you can pull it out later in the day when the flavors have time to meld. Lentil salsa is absolutely perfect served poolside or lakeside, when it’s not quite time for dinner but appetites are growing.
Lentil Salsa
Servings: About 3 cups
Cooking Method: Simmer lentils, then mix together the remaining ingredients
Preparation Time: 20 minutes to cook the lentils, which should give you enough time to chop and mix the remaining ingredients. Then chill before serving.
I always serve lentil salsa with tortilla chips, but have been known to occasionally eat it with a spoon for lunch.
Questions? If you have any questions about this recipe, just ask in the comments!
A printable pdf of the recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients
1 cup dried brown lentils (about 3 cups cooked)
2 cups chopped tomatoes
3/4 to 1 cup finely chopped yellow or sweet onion
1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
One 4-oz can diced green chiles (mild or spicy)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
A heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste (I usually get close to 1/2 teaspoon)
Optional: 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
Instructions
Combine the lentils in a pot with 4 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a very gentle simmer - keep the burner nearly on low. Put a lid on the pot and simmer the lentils until tender but not mushy. Start checking the lentils after 16 minutes, although some brands might take closer to 18 to 20 minutes to soften. You want the lentils to be more firm than soft so that the salsa doesn’t have a mushy texture.
Drain off the water and put the lentils in the refrigerator to cool.
While the lentils cool, chop the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and garlic and combine them in a large bowl with the cooled lentils (or mostly cooled, the lentils can be slightly warm).
Add the green chiles, coriander, red wine vinegar, lime juice and salt. If you’re adding jalapeño pepper, do it now.
Let the lentil salsa chill for an hour or more, then taste again and add more salt and lime juice if the flavor seems bland.
Notes
Brown lentils are the most common type of lentil sold in most large grocery stores. If the package just says “lentils” and the lentils look a brownish/khaki color, then you can assume it’s a brown lentil.
This is a bonus recipe for paid subscribers. You can find the entire collection of bonus recipes on my Substack recipe index page. Think of the recipe index page as an online cookbook, just for you!