Lentil and Tuna Salad

I was trying to decide on what to make for dinner the other night, and looking at what we had in our kitchen. We had some lovely French lentils and some good quality tuna, so I went looking for a recipe that would combine them. I found this recipe at NYTimes cooking.  I couldn’t see why you would buy tuna in water, then use olive oil in your vinaigrette, so I used the olive oil that the tuna came with, and it was delicious.  I mixed it with some baby spinach to give it greens.  When I had some the next day for leftovers, I bought some arugula, and it was even better that way.  Super easy dish, pretty healthy, and really delicious. The picture is from the website, obviously. Some of the people who left comments added things like feta cheese and/or cherry tomatoes, which seem like good ideas to me.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup green or brown lentils, washed and picked over
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ medium onion
•  Salt to taste
• 1 can water-packed tuna, drained
• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Place the lentils, half the garlic, the bay leaf and the onion in a medium-size saucepan or soup pot. Add 1 quart water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and add salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon). Cover and simmer 30 minutes until the lentils are just tender. Remove the onion and bay leaf, and discard. Drain the lentils through a strainer set over a bowl.
2. In a large bowl, combine the tuna, parsley, chives and drained lentils.
3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, remaining garlic clove and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the broth from the lentils. Toss with the tuna and lentils, and serve.