Warm Puy Lentil Salad with Balsamic Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese

Steps

1. a medium pot of salted water to the boil.
2. Cook lentils in pot of boiling water for about 20–25 minutes, until just tender but still firm.
3. Add asparagus and cook a further 1¬–2 minutes, until asparagus is bright green and just tender. Drain and set both aside. While lentils cook, prepare balsamic beetroot.
4. Add balsamic vinegar, honey and beetroot to a small pot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, until balsamic has reduced and thickened slightly. Remove beetroot and set aside. Reserve remaining balsamic reduction.
5. Slice goat’s cheese into six 1cm-thick rounds. Slice beetroot into 1cm-thick rounds.
6. Mix all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl. Finely dice onion; dice tomato 1cm; dice cucumber 1cm. Add all to bowl with dressing, along with chopped herbs and cooked lentils (keeping cooked asparagus separate). Toss to combine.
7. Spoon lentil salad onto plates. Lay a few asparagus spares over each lentil salad. Top with 2 rounds of goat’s cheese, then place the warm beetroot on top of the goat’s cheese. Drizzle over balsamic reduction.