Lentil, Fava and Feta Salad

In my last post I’ve shown you how to assemble a very simple salad recipe. As I’ve said salad is a very versatile meal that is good for you, for me...for all of us, because it offers a range of nutrients and vitamins that are essential for our well-being and health. And so for today I’d like to share to you another simple and easy to prepare no cook meal that you can make without employing heat. This tasty and delicious salad is such a wonderful combination of textures and flavors in tangy dressing using lentil bean, fava bean and feta cheese. Try it! It's so easy to prepare!

Prep Time: 15 mins

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients: 

½ cup (85g) frozen shelled fava beans       
1 x 14oz (400g) can of green or brown
    lentils, drained and rinsed, or
    2 cups drained cooked lentils
1 bunch of scallions, finely chopped   
1 fresh green chile, finely chopped
6oz (175g) feta cheese,
     cut into cubes
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley,
     finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground
    black pepper

For the dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 x 1in (2.5cm) piece fresh ginger,
    peeled and grated
pinch of sugar (optional)

Directions:

1 Cover the fava beans with boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain.
2 Put the lentils in a serving bowl and season with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Stir in the drained fava beans, scallions, and chile.
3 To make the dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, and ginger in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar (if using), and whisk until well blended. Drizzle over the salad and let stand for 10 minutes, to allow the flavors to develop.
4 When ready to serve, stir in the feta and parsley.

Variation: Goat cheese, or any smoked or blue cheese, can be used instead of the feta. For a colorful twist, toss in some peeled orange segments.

Notes: Canned lentils are an excellent pantry standby that will keep up to 1 year. They end to be salty, so be sure to rinse them with cold water.

How To Assemble A Simple No Cook Meal

Hello there! Hopefully by now you are ready to try some delicious no cook recipes for yourself! How about starting with salad? The salad is a very versatile meal or accompaniment to a meal and is very good for you. It can offer a range of nutrients and vitamins that are essential for the well being of your body and health. Some of these include vitamin C, E and beta-carotene. These work as an antioxidant within the body and help to prevent infection and skin health to name a few. These can be found in many salad ingredients including peppers, oranges, mangoes and tomatoes.

OK, let's see how these quick and simple “1, 2, 3” preparation steps will turn your raw ingredients into a delicious meal without employing heat.

1 Slice 3 baby zucchini, or the vegetable of your choice, thinly using a vegetable peeler, and add them to a bowl. Season with salt.








2 Mix together 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, ½ a red chile, deseeded and finely chopped, and 1 tablespoon freshly chopped mint leaves. Add to the zucchini, and gently toss together using your hands.

3 Serve Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and pile it onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with some shaved Parmesan
cheese, and a few torn fresh mint leaves.




Try to experiment the following perfect pairings (a mixture of classic and the more unusual) - the key to marrying flavors is to experiment! You can experiment with your own combination of ingredients listed below.

• Combine fresh peaches or apricots with Parma ham.
• Crumble some feta cheese over fresh figs.
• Dish up juicy strawberries with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
• Serve cured meats with melon.
• Team smoked salmon with horseradish.
• Toss cooked shrimp with lemon grass and fresh root ginger.
• Try smoked mackerel with beets and fresh dill or fresh tarragon.
• Try raw shredded red cabbage with freshly grated root ginger and fresh dill or a blue cheese dressing.
• Enjoy goat cheese with honey.
• Serve raw fennel with sliced oranges and finely chopped rosemary leaves.
• Pair radicchio with blue cheese and walnuts.
• Toss spinach with pomegranate seeds and pine nuts.
• Drizzle soy sauce, chile, and lime juice over smoked salmon.

No Cook Meals - Some Things You Need To Know

Welcome aboard and thank you for dropping by!

The collection of recipes published here requires no cooking at all. Instead, they rely on exceedingly fresh produce in its most naked state, sometimes combined with meat or seafood you can buy ready to eat. Vibrant condiments and herbs heighten the flavors. These no cook meals are all about simplicity and speed, and they are so satisfying that even the salads would not leave you looking for a hamburger afterward.

No cook meals are the perfect solution on days when you are not in the mood to cook, too tired or simply just too lazy to cook. They can also come in handy during kitchen renovations, or on busy days when you just want to sit down and eat without the effort of cooking a meal. It can be tempting to go out to eat on days like these, but this is also beyond the budget of many families, and no cook meals can be a way to save money without sacrificing flavor.

The Raw Facts

Lots of precious nutrients are lost in the cooking process, so eating raw foods such as fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, pulses, and dried fruits is extremely nutritious. Raw foods are packed with antioxidants: eating those increases energy levels, helps with digestion, and the high levels of vitamins, and E are beneficial to both skin and hair. A good rule of thumb when preparing a raw dish is to use as many different colored fruits and vegetables as possible, for optimum health benefits.

But can you really create a meal without turning on the oven? Many people are surprised to see just how many great dishes can be created without cooking, from cold soups to pasta. Read on every post on this blog to learn about the easiest no-cook meal options you can throw together without adding heat.