This is an eggplant salad that proves two things: 1) that lentils have an undeservedly bad reputation for being bland and boring (you’re just cooking them wrong!); and 2) that eggplant really is one of the best vegetables in the world to roast in the oven. Combine them together and you have a winner of a salad!
Lentil and Roasted Eggplant Salad
I feel like this eggplant salad is unleashing my Ottolenghi within. Except (dare I say it!) this calls for a heck of a lot less ingredients, they are all “normal” things and you won’t just make this once and be exhausted, you will make it over and over again.
(Also, you’re getting this recipe for free – his cookbooks are rather expensive!!)
So what makes this lentil salad so good?
Lentils cooked in an aromatic broth to infuse with flavour
Eggplant roasted so they’re plump and meltingly tender inside, caramelised on the outside
It’s all tossed in a lemony garlicky dressing
It’s meaty, it’s satisfying, it’s interesting
It keeps well!
Oh – and it’s just downright tasty. Of course! That’s why I went to the effort of photographing / filming / writing it up!!😉
What you need to make the tasty lentils!
Here’s what you need to make bland boring lentils ultra tasty – and I exaggerate not when I say you’ll be eating it straight out of the pot! (Well, colander 😂).
Use green lentils, brown lentils or French/puy lentils for this recipe. Dried is best because they will absorb the flavoured broth as they cook, but I’ve popped directions in the recipe for using canned as well.
The roasted eggplant
Here’s all you need to make the roasted eggplant. I actually shared the recipe for roasted eggplant separately about 10 minutes ago (being that knowing how to roast eggplant so they’re plump and juicy inside and caramelised on the outside is a handy thing in life because nobody wants to serve up a tray of mushy eggplant or dry shrivelled up ones at that), thinking I’d link through to this recipe.
But no, that’s inconvenient for YOU. 😂 So I’ve written how to roast the eggplant in this recipe too!
And the salad stuff (plus dressing)
And here’s the other “stuff” that goes into the eggplant salad and the garlic lemon dressing.
As regular readers know, I always like my substantial salads to have some sort of little treat, whether it’s a sprinkling of nuts or pomegranate or parmesan. Today, it’s feta!
How to make this lentil eggplant salad
And here’s how to make this salad. It dawned on me as I was writing out the recipe that it looks like there’s a lot of steps and lots of ingredients. But it really isn’t a tricky or lengthy recipe. Actually, it flows quite nicely – while the eggplant and lentils are cooking, make the dressing and get the salad add ins ready, then it all comes together.
The eggplant really is the star here…not that I want to talk down the lentils (because they likely will be some of the tastiest quick ‘n easy braised lentils you’ve ever had), but just LOOK at the eggplant! Plump, juicy and caramelised rather than a pile of mush or shrivelled up disaster!
How to serve this Eggplant Salad
This is a mighty salad that deserves to be served as a main. It should serve 4 normal adults, or 3 with very hearty appetites. A side of crusty bread would certainly fill it out (hot, with lashings of butter!). Or try it with flatbreads – tear bits off and stuff with this salad!
But it’s also a sensational side, a good one to take somewhere when you’re relegated to bringing “just” a side salad (I’ve sulked about this before and it’s been the catalyst for previous Show Off Salads like this Apple Salad, Asian-style Quinoa Salad or Honey-Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad). Not only because it’s something different and it looks impressive when you pile it up high on a plate, but also because unlike most salads, it keeps very well even once dressed and it’s terrific either warm OR at room temp (I honestly can’t say which is better).
Which also makes it really good for a work lunch. I’m not sure that your work colleagues will be overly jealous when you tell them you’re having eggplant salad. But that’s ok. That your lunch trumps theirs can be our little secret. 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Roasted Eggplant Lentil Salad (Aubergine Salad)
Ingredients
TASTY LENTILS!
- 1 cup dried green or brown lentils (or French/puy) (Note 1 for canned)
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth (or water + 1 bouillon cube, crumbled)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 large garlic clove , smashed, skin removed (Note 2)
- Lemon peel (about 1.5 x 5 cm / 3/4 x 2″)
- 1 bay leaf , dry or fresh
- 2 sprigs thyme , or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 rib celery , broken into 3 or 4 pieces (or just a handful of celery leaves, can skip)
Roasted Eggplant:
- 700g / 1.4 lb eggplant / aubergine (2 medium)
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp EACH salt and pepper
Garlic Lemon Dressing:
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (or cider vinegar, white or red wine vinegar)
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove , minced using garlic press
- 1 tsp thyme leaves , fresh (or 1/2 ts dried – can omit, or other herbs, Note 3)
- 1 tsp sugar , optional
- 1/2 tsp EACH salt + black pepper
Salad:
- 250g/ 8 oz cherry tomatoes , halved (large quartered)
- 2 handfuls rocket / arugula lettuce , torn into 5cm/2″ pieces
- 60g/ 2 oz feta , crumbled (or more!)
Instructions
- Dressing – shake in a jar.
LENTILS:
- Place Lentil ingredients in a saucepan, bring to simmer over medium heat. Place lid on then lower heat to medium low so it's simmering gently.
- Cook for 20 minutes (for al dente, my preference), or 25 minutes (for soft), stirring occasionally.
- Drain, then pick out all the flavouring bits (garlic etc). BRIEFLY rinse to get grit off – don't wash off all the flavour! Shake off excess water well.
ROASTED EGGPLANT:
- Preheat oven to 240°C / 450°F (220°C fan). Line a tray with parchment/baking paper.
- Cut eggplant into large cubes – 3 cm / 1.2". Place in large bowl, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper.
- Toss well, then immediately spread on tray and roast 20 minutes. Flip, then roast for a further 10 minutes – edges should be caramelised, soft inside, but they're not shrivelled up and dismal.
ASSEMBLE:
- Add tomato and rocket into lentils, drizzle over most of the Dressing then toss.
- Pour onto serving platter. Pile over eggplant.
- Drizzle eggplant with remaining Dressing, sprinkle with feta . Serve warm or at room temp! Great with a side of flatbread or this easy crusty bread.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More big, satisfying main course salads
Life of Dozer
When he spent the day with the boarder and I met her at the dog park for handover – the pretty young one on top is Priscilla – Dozer’s the old face squeezing under her! He’s so pushy.
Reluctantly used canned lentils to save on time, but it was still absolutely delicious. It might be my new go-to bring-a-side dish for get togethers. Yum yum yum.
This salad is a winner. I would have never thought to combine eggplant with lentils but it works. The creaminess of the eggplant and the tartness of the lentils with lemon dressing makes me want to eat and eat and eat. It’s also very filling and stays with me for hours even though theirs no meat. My husband hates eggplant but he likes this salad. Another winner!
This salad was so easy and delicious another new salad for my kids birthday. Everyone loved it and wanted to take left over home. Not enough to share around. Thank you
Such a beautifully tasty salad, Nagi! For anyone reading the recipe for the first time who doesn’t have all exact ingredients but wants to use up their veggies from the crisper, I added cucumbers and substituted the rocket for radicchio which I had lying around (and also just chopped up some large tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes as that’s all I had). I wonder if a few seeds of pomegranate might be nice chucked in there as well…anyway if you’ve got the eggplants and lentils then you’re only constrained by your imagination with the remainder of the veggies I reckon! An absolute winner and so wholesome and filling, thanks again Nagi!
It is so adaptable Karin! N x
What a lovely salad! I’ve never made eggplant before and liked it, but I did this time! Thank you!
So delicious! Thank you 😊
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I added some toasted pine nuts for some crunch when I served this, but I see endless possibilities for different garnishes. So easy and I really appreciated the guidance on cooking the lentils in flavored broth. Makes a huge difference in a lentil dish.
I am all about adding more flavour! N x
this really was refreshingly different! I have a garden that is still going crazy this Fall. I have Asian eggplants in abundance and arugula that has volunteered from the spring crops seeds. Cherry tomatoes still abundant and I added a sweet red pepper to the salad and a slit serrano to the lentil pot. Did not have celery but a sprig of lovage brought the flavor in.
This is SO GOOD! I just took a bite and had to tell you how GOOD this recipe is! Thank you so much for creating this recipe; it’s awesome!
Oh my goodness-who knew eggplant could taste this good, especially in a salad???
I’m addicted…!!!
I would give this 10 stars if I could. 🙂. We have this possibly once a week. I prepare most of it the day before (I use canned lentils so marinate the day before) this is so tasty, made it for a few people and always say where I got the recipe from. We love it!
Oh this was goooood! Husband loved it and it made an excellent hearty and nourishing dinner.
I did the canned brown lentils because I’m lazy and it was still so lovely and it was easy!. Thank you.
This is fabulous!! Thanks so much for this terrific recipe!
This was outrageously delicious!! The first bite of it caused a surprised “woooooow-I-didn’t-think-a-lentil-salad-can-be-THIS-GOOD” from my family. Thank you for sharing this recipe! ❤️
I’m so glad it was a hit Ksenia, that’s awesome!!! N x
Fabulous recipe!
I’m not a fan of raw tomato so I substituted with roast pumpkin & capsicum. I added a sprinkle of toasted pinenuts for added crunch. So delicious & lemony
excellent! we love your recipes!
OMG! Love this! So simple and nutritious as well as delicious! what more could anyone want.
YUM!! This was even tastier than it looks and sounds in the recipe. So delicious and nourishing. I made myself stop so I could have some leftover for dinner. Can’t wait!!
Nagi,
Oh my goodness! This is fabulous! I had eggplant and cherry tomatoes from our garden and was looking for a new recipe to try them with. This was amazing. My only modification was to add a few tablespoons of chopped walnuts to give it an nice crunch. I think I’m addicted to this salad!!!
Great idea Katy!! N x
Making this for dinner tonight and the grocery store was out of arugula. I have loads of fresh herbs in my garden- basil, parsley, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley, rosemary, lemon balm, dill. Thoughts about what might work well to add a little green and compensate for the missing arugula?
Carmelized eggplant is amazing! Seasoned lentils were awesome. And an excellent salad dressing. Three great recipes in one!