Lentil Arugula Salad with Cumin Roasted Carrots

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Shelley followed up the wonderful mango guacamole with a fresh pea soup and this fantastic masala lentil salad, which is pretty easy to make if you buy the lentils & arugula ready to eat at trader Joes. Roast the carrots ahead of time and toss it all together!

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
2 T olive oil
1 T maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup lentils (use precooked from Trader Joe's)
2 cups packed baby arugula
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
(optional) 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

Masala Dressing:
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp garam masala
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
(optional) Pomegranate molasses OR squeeze some juice out of pomegranate seeds
(optional) Toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or pine nuts

Instructions

Roast carrots: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the carrots in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and maple syrup, sprinkle with the cumin, and toss until evenly coated. Transfer to a lined baking sheet, spreading them in a single layer. Season generously with coarse salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the carrots are fork-tender and browning. Let cool.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until evenly combined. I don't have pomegranate molasses around, so we used a garlic press to get some juice out of some pomegranate seeds and added that (a couple of tablespoons I think) to the dressing.

Toss together all the salad ingredients.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently until evenly combined.

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