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Spring French Lentil Salad with Asparagus, Fennel & Orange

5 from 5 reader reviews
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4 -6
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Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 cup dry French lentils
  • 5 cups water
  • ½ lb asparagus, tough ends trimmed
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 medium fennel bulb
  • ½ small red onion
  • ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • 2 medium oranges

Dressing

  • juice from the oranges after cutting into supremes
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then simmer until lentils are just tender, about 20-25 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
  • Cut the asparagus into 2-3 inch lengths (I like to do it on a diagonal). Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot, pour in the olive oil and add the asparagus. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until asparagus is just tender and bright green, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
  • Use a mandolin or sharp knife to finely shave the fennel and red onion. Place in a large bowl. To the bowl, add the parsley and walnuts. With a paring knife, peel the oranges and cut nice supremes. Then, place the supremes in the bowl as well, reserving what’s left of the orange for the dressing.
  • Make the dressing. Squeeze the remains of the oranges into a medium bowl. To the orange juice, add the apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, cumin, coriander, and olive oil. Whisk to combine.
  • Pour the dressing over the lentil and vegetable mixture in the large bowl. Add the sautéed asparagus to the bowl and season the whole thing liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Serve with extra chopped parsley and walnuts on top if you like.

Recipe Notes

  • I prefer French lentils for lentil salads because they stay nice and firm. Having said that, you could substitute brown lentils here if that’s what you have on hand!
  • You could do pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or almonds instead of walnuts. I just really love walnuts with fennel and orange.
  • A great tutorial for cutting orange supremes can be found here.
Fresh, spring-y, satiating, but still light! This French lentil salad is naturally vegan and filled with crisp sliced fennel and red onions, sautéed asparagus, orange slices, parsley, and chopped walnuts.