Re-creating leFarm's Golden Beet Salad w/ Lentils & Feta

I came across this post from a local blogger, Lauren Fister of chatNchow.com. The words "excellent dinner at leFarm" caught my eye, and I read on to find out that Lauren and I shared a common obsession with a new appetizer featured on leFarm's menu, the Beet & Lentil Salad.  In fact, she liked it so much, she went home and tried to re-create the dish in her own kitchen. From the looks of it, she did a pretty good job. Mind you, we're not promising Bill Taibe here, but check out her recipe for a delicious Golden Beet Salad (Nature's Candy) With Lentils & Feta.

Golden Beet Salad (Nature's Candy) With Lentils & Feta

I'm not really a salad girl...I've never been one!  I usually don't eat the salad served in restaurants unless it's an amazing Caesar or one that has a lot going on OTHER then just greens.  Over the weekend we had a fantastic dinner at LeFarm in Westport!  One of the highlights was the beet salad!  Bill's had more pink and red beets than I used here, but I took total inspiration and made one for dinner last night.  Their dressing was a bit sweet for me as I like something to cut the sweetness of the beets so I went with a lemon dressing. I loved that they used lentils because it gave more substance to the dish vs. using just greens.

Roasting the beets:

First I wrapped the beets in parchment paper and tied with a twine.  I don't like to use foil because I think it gives food a metallic flavor.  I let them sit in a 425 oven for about an hour and 10 minutes.  I unwrapped them and let them cool a bit and peeled the skin right off.  Then I just put them in a bowl with some olive oil, salt and pepper and let them sit overnight.

Dressing:

juice of one lemon and half an orange (cuts the lemon)

2 shallots finely chopped 

tablespoon mustard

salt and pepper

olive oil

Combine everything except olive oil, then while wisking add olive oil until creamy about 1/2c olive oil will do.

Lentils:

I cooked my lentils with chicken broth, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil - they tasted GREAT and they are a good source of iron... These could have been enough of a meal on their own! 

Then I just tossed the salad lightly with the dressing and added everything else including feta.