Italian Lentil Salad, Roasted Chicken and Toasted Bread

Occasionally I'm recruited to cook something my mom picks out and buys the groceries for. This was the case last night, with an Italian Lentil Salad. But I was able to pair it with some juicy roasted chicken, and crispy toasted bread with olive oil. The lentil salad had great flavors, but I'm just not a big fan of the texture of lentils. So, I ate everything else in the salad but the lentils! Anyways, here are some photos!

Italian Lentil Salad
Here's the recipe adapted from Giada.


Ingredients:
1 pound Green Lentils (Recommended: Sabarot)
2 Scallions, chopped
1 cup Halved Seedless Green Grapes
1 cup Halved Seedless Red Grapes
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and diced
½ cup Coarsely Chopped Pistachios
2 tsp Lemon Zest (From About 2 Lemons)
Vinaigrette:
⅓ cup Fresh Lemon Juice (From 1 To 2 Lemons)
⅓ cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
½ tsp Kosher Salt
¼ tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper


Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lentils and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 18 to 20 minutes. Drain and let cool for 5 minutes. Place lentils and remaining salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.


Roasted Chicken


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use either chicken breast or thighs, placed in an oven safe dish, and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Cook for 35-40 minutes. 


Toasted Bread


Directions:
Drizzle bread slices with good olive oil. Place in the broiler until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt.