Lentil and egg salad

The hot Melbourne summer this year called for lots of fresh, crisp salads.  This is one that I made for lunch one day.  I love the combination of the lentils, hard-boiled eggs and crisp vegetables.  There are so many lovely textures and colours. I often soak dry lentils overnight before I cook them but it is not strictly necessary.  They will just need cooking for longer. If you don't want to cook lentils, you can easily add canned lentils to the mix.  When I buy fresh basil leaves, I always seem to have some over.  I hang them to dry and enjoy the intense taste of them in salads or when grilling meat.

Ingredients

100gr French style lentils (puy)
12 red and yellow cherry tomatoes
1 Lebanese cucumber
1/2 red capsicum
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 clove Garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Dried basil leaves


Mode

Soak the lentils in a saucepan of water overnight
Remove water and rinse lentils
Add fresh water to the lentils and boil until tender
Boil the eggs
Cool the eggs
Strain lentils and add to a salad bowl
Peel and roughly chop eggs
Half cherry tomatoes
Roughly chop cucumber and red capsicum
Add egg and vegetables to the lentils
Add dried basil leaves to taste
Add crushed garlic, ginger, and olive oil
Toss all ingredients
Eat for lunch with a crusty loaf of bread