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?
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Lentils cooked in an aromatic broth to infuse with flavour
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Eggplant roasted so they’re plump and meltingly tender inside, caramelised on the outside
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It’s all tossed in a lemony garlicky dressing
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It’s meaty, it’s satisfying, it’s interesting
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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.
Have made this salad quite a few times now and it never fails to disappoint!
The dressing is amazing
Thanks so much, Naji. What a great recipe. Impressive without requiring very much effort and healthy and inexpensive.
As heaps of rosemary grows all around me I added a couple of stalks to the lentils instead of thyme and just added a pinch of mixed dried herbs.
Used a carrot instead of celery.
Used a tbs each of fish sauce and soya sauce in place of stock (not as good but hardly noticeable).
Used normal tomatoes instead of cherry but think cherry would certainly be better.
I used about 3 tbs of lemon juice for the dressing for only half the recipe (will have the other half tomorrow) and no oil simply because I think the oil used in the eggplant is sufficient. The dressing was very lemony and probably wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste but both the other diner and I like lemony.
For tomorrow’s I think I’ll also mix some chopped parsley in with the lentils.
Thanks again for a great recipe.
Thank you for all those tips and feedback Petra! I’m happy you liked it! N x
Made this twice already: use precooked lentils from the produce department. Book club tonite: room temperature along with asparagus mimosa, a bowl of clementines and mini chocolate topped ice cream cones. Perfect with very little prep while friends are here. Thank you!
It’s a great dish for that sort of event! It’s always more fun to enjoy the party!! N x
Hi Nagi, about to start making this for the first time. It’ll become obvious, but I just noticed you have noted that it takes 1d 30 minutes to cook….Hoping that’s a mistake as I don’t see anywhere I need to soak the lentils first?
Mmmm, this was so, so good – the smoky creaminess of the eggplant goes so well with the earthy, spicy lentils and bright feta and lemon. I just made it for the second time and this time served it on couscous to make it more of a hearty meal, and added one chopped medjool date to each portion for a pop of sweetness – OH MY! Huge hit all around.
That sounds amazing Susan – love the date idea! N x
Just Make It! It was delicious, thank you for the recipe. My husband and I enjoyed it very much. Served it with roasted chicken. Will definately be making again.
Girlfriend . . .yum! This is a great weeknight dinner. It came together quickly, and the earthy flavors and differing textures make it more than the sum of its parts. My husband loved it, and I will definitely make it again. The arugula is key!
I have just made this as it has some of my favourite ingredients. It’s absolutely delicious. Subtle & light but so tasty. Great way of having lentils as some salads can be bland. I always have parsley in my fridge so used that instead of rocket. Utterly delicious thank you so much for this.
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.