French Lentil Salad With Broccolini (Printable Version)

Tender French lentils, crisp broccolini, and jammy eggs with Dijon vinaigrette.

# What You'll Need:

→ Lentils and Vegetables

01 - 1 cup French green lentils, rinsed
02 - 1 bay leaf
03 - 8 oz broccolini, trimmed and halved
04 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
05 - 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

→ Eggs

06 - 4 large eggs

→ Vinaigrette

07 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
08 - 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
09 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
10 - 1 small garlic clove, minced
11 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
12 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ To Finish

13 - 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta, optional
14 - Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

# Directions:

01 - Combine lentils, bay leaf, and 4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until lentils are tender. Drain, discard bay leaf, and set aside.
02 - While lentils cook, bring a separate pot of salted water to a boil. Add broccolini and blanch for 2-3 minutes until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking.
03 - Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Gently lower eggs in and simmer for 7 minutes. Transfer eggs to an ice bath for 2 minutes, then peel carefully.
04 - In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
05 - Add warm lentils, broccolini, red onion, and parsley to the bowl with vinaigrette. Toss gently to combine and coat thoroughly.
06 - Divide salad among plates. Halve the soft-cooked eggs and place on top. Sprinkle with goat cheese or feta if using. Finish with extra cracked pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Those French lentils hold their shape beautifully and taste slightly peppery, making them feel more sophisticated than you'd expect from something so simple.
  • The jammy eggs are the surprise that turns a side salad into an actual meal, and the soft yolk becomes its own dressing when you break it open.
  • You can make it in under an hour start to finish, which somehow feels impossible until you actually do it.
02 -
  • The egg timing is everything; seven minutes gives you that perfect jammy center, but even thirty seconds matters once you've done it once.
  • Don't skip the ice bath for the eggs—it stops the cooking immediately and makes peeling them so much less frustrating.
  • Toss the salad while the lentils are still warm so they actually absorb the vinaigrette instead of sitting on top of it.
03 -
  • Cook the lentils the day before if you want to move faster on dinner day—they actually taste slightly better after sitting overnight.
  • Don't wash the cooking pot between the lentils and the broccolini if you're short on time; the residual flavor just adds to everything.
  • If the eggs are cold when you crack them into the salad, warm them gently in the residual heat for thirty seconds—it brings the whole thing together.
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