This Healthy Pea Salad is inspired by Mediterranean flavors and spring produce! It’s packed with fresh veggies, bright flavors and protein rich lentils and labneh.
How to Prepare Lentils and Labneh
The base of this healthy spring pea salad are the lentils and labneh so you’ll need to prepare those first!
I recommend using black lentils as they cook quickly and have a delicate flavor. It will take around 1/2 cup of dry lentils to equal 1 cup cooked. Make sure to salt the water you boil the lentils in to give them an extra boost of flavor.
Next, prepare the labneh.
If you’ve never had labneh, now is the time to start! Labneh is part yogurt, part cheese and probiotic dense. This delightful Mediterranean cheese is thick and creamy with less calories and fat than cream cheese. If you are unable to purchase labneh you can also make it at home by straining greek yogurt. You can find an easy recipe for homemade labneh here. And I recommend making extra as labneh is great for dipping pita, veggies and even fresh baguette!
For this salad you’ll flavor the labneh with fresh dill, lemon and a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside to allow the flavors to meld.
What Veggies to Use in a Spring Salad
The beauty of this salad is that the vegetable components can be switched up as needed. I like to use a mix of sugar snap peas, snow peas, pea shoots and english cucumber. You can also substitute green beans, asparagus, broccoli or even celery.
Prepare the selected vegetables for the salad by washing and dicing or shelling, as required. Then toss the vegetable mix with a light garlic dressing – just a combination of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar and garlic.
How to Plate the Spring Salad with Peas
You can plate this as one big salad or as individual servings, your choice!
First, spoon the herbed labneh onto the plate and top with the cooked black lentils. Then add the dressed vegetable mix and sprinkle with chopped pistachios, diced green onions, fresh mint leaves and add crisp pita on the side!
How to Serve
This Spring Pea Salad makes an excellent lunch option that will keep you full without weighing you down! You can also add a light protein like chicken or fish, but the lentils and labneh already do a good job in that category.
For dinner, this salad compliments most dishes, but I recommend serving this Spring Pea Salad with dishes like this Baked White Fish or my Easy Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies with Lemon and Herbs.
How to Pair
White Wine
A Pinot Grigio or Dry Riesling with good acidity would bring out the crisp and fresh flavors in the vegetables.
Red Wine
A nice Sangiovese would also help highlight the herbaceous and creamy labneh.
Healthy Spring Pea Salad with Lentils
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black Lentils cooked, about 1/2 cup uncooked
- 3/4 cup Labneh or strained greek yogurt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice divided
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Dill
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon White Pepper Powder optional, can use black pepper
- 3 cups Fresh Vegetables Peas, Pea Shoots, Cucumber
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 2 cloves Garlic finely diced
- 2 tablespoons Green Onion diced
- 1/8 cup Pistachios chopped
- 8 large Fresh Mint Leaves torn, optional
Instructions
- Cook lentils according to package directions in lightly salted water. Set aside to cool.
- Mix labneh with 1 1/2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice, Fresh Dill, Salt and Pepper until smooth. Set aside to allow the flavors to meld.
- Make the garlic dressing by combining 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar and 2 cloves finely diced Garlic. Next, wash and prepare (dice, shell) your selected vegetables. Add the vegetables to a bowl and toss with dressing.
- The salad can be served on one dish or prepared on individual plates. First spoon on the herbed labneh, top with cooked, cooled lentils, then dressed vegetables. Finally, sprinkle with green onions, chopped pistachios and torn mint leaves. Serve with crisped pita on the side.
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