sweet potato, lentil and goat cheese salad

i was still in summer mode

when i opened the main page

of epicurious and was greeted

by this salad.

derailed from my original path

(i think it was for prune plums),

i clicked through to fall recipes,

showed amazing patience

when it took three pages to find

and then landed, finally at

the very fall-inspired dish.

it was one of those moments,

much like when i first saw this pie,

that i knew i would be making

the salad very soon.

it wasn't going to fall into

the print and lose

or

mentally filed away piles,

but instead, cooked as soon as

it made a modicum of sense

to set our oven back to its

winter mode: roast.

this past weekend,

i ransacked the bulk section

at the store, coming away

with what i hoped was

3/4 cup of french green lentils

and then on sunday,

headed to the farmer's market

in search of a sugar pumpkin.

none. and at the store an hour

later? none again.

i toyed with the idea of using

butternut squash - the

recipe had even said it was

an option - but when i saw

sweet potatoes, i knew

that was the obvious answer.

we are huge fans and i had

a feeling that, for us,

the salad would turn out

even better this way.

plus, pumpkins are tricky

to cut, a pain to peel

and messy to seed.

yes, this was a much

better option.

if i had any hesitation about

this salad, it was this:

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint.

i think it's fair to say that

i am anti-mint.

i do not like

mint chocolate chip ice cream

and over the years

i've done a very good

job at avoiding mojitos.

yet, as i walked past the

herbs, i lingered,

clinging close to the feeling

that recipe developers don't

add random ingredients just

for the fun of it. i consulted

with larry who agreed

that i should give the mint

a chance.

(fyi, i still stand

my ground on

parsley,

celery

and fennel

regardless of what future

recipe they show up in.)

i fell in love with the salad

before our first bites.

when we returned home

from the store,

hours before,

i had boiled the lentils

and roasted the sweet potatoes,

setting them aside in bowls until

it was time for dinner.

the sweet potatoes were slightly

smoky and spicy

thanks to the

cumin,

smoked paprika

and

cayenne.

i rewarmed the cubes slightly just

before making the salad -

for me, something that's warm always

seems heartier than it would cold.

as i slivered the mint

and placed everything in the bowl,

i just had that feeling -

that rare, but exciting, feeling -

that this was going to really work

and become a new favorite

in our house.

i loved how step-by-step it was,

how most of the ingredients

carried very little guilt with them

and how,

when tossed together,

everything just looked so right.

i'll admit,

that even after committing to the mint,

doubt still lingered.

but the fresh herb added

a really unexpected touch,

and i found myself craving a piece

with each bite.

i really, genuinely liked the mint

(so much so that just wait and see

what i did with the rest of it

for the next night's dinner).

sweet potato, lentil and goat cheese salad

adapted from bon appetit magazine

the original recipe called for sprinkling the pumpkin (or in this case, sweet potato) with hot smoked paprika. you know we love our smoked paprika, but we only had sweet smoked and i could not bring myself to buy a hot smoked, too. instead, i added cayenne. also, the original recipe called for one cup of goat cheese, which for our two person purposes seemed like quite a bit, so i reduced that and used a very exacting, four or five extra large handfuls of arugula leaves.

3/4 cup French green lentils

2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and cubed into 1" pieces

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2-3 good shakes of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 large handfuls baby arugula

3/4 log (4 ounce) goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

heat oven to 375˚f.

place lentils in small bowl. cover with cold water and soak 10 minutes; drain. (um, i didn't realize until i just wrote this that i completely missed this step. obviously, i was still ok. i think.)

bring large saucepot of water to a boil; add salt. place lentils in boiling water and cook 30 minutes, or until tender, but firm. drain lentils. rinse with cold water until cool, shaking strainer. drain completely.

in large bowl, combine cubed sweet potato, 2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. transfer sweet potatoes to single layer on foil-lined baking sheet. roast 20 minutes; turn (drizzling with olive oil or spraying, if necessary) and cook 10-15 minutes more, or until tender. cool on baking sheet.

just before serving: reheat sweet potatoes, if desired, in 350˚f degree oven for 5-10 minutes, or just until warm (not hot). in bowl, combine arugula, mint, half of the goat cheese, sweet potatoes, lentils, red wine vinegar and remaining olive oil (the recipe also instructed to use leftover oil from the baking sheet to make the dressing - i did not have any, which is why i slightly increased the amounts of the vinegar and oil).

divide salad amongst bowls; top with remaining crumbled goat cheese. garnish with mint leaves.