At one point I mislaid the recipe, but was both pleased and relieved to discover that Nancy O'Connor, the nutritionist at the Community Mercantile Co-op, was distributing copies of it, as well as free samples, in the store a couple years ago. This salad has attracted a following in Lawrence, and for good reason. The gentle bite of the feta and lemon juice is nicely offset by the earthiness of the lentils. The tomatoes, green pepper and olives add both color and flavor. For this salad I prefer to use red lentils, which will cook up brown, because they contrast in color with the other ingredients.
Lentils are an underappreciated legume.
They turn up in Middle Eastern recipes and are a popular soup ingredient in Europe, but they have never found wide acceptance in this country. This is unfortunate for us, because we tend to like things that cook quickly. I know of no other dried bean that can be finished on the stove in half an hour without soaking. Like many other beans, lentils have a flavor that is neutral enough to accept and complement a variety of herbs and other ingredients. That's why they work so well in soups and salads.