Beetroot, Puy Lentils & Halloumi

As the summer holidays come to an end, this salad is perfect for a super healthy and nutritious kickstart to your September detox! Beetroot is such a power-house; they contain phytochemicals called nitrates that help to keep your blood and heart healthy; and are rich in folate, a B vitamin that helps your body produce haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. I've used raw beetroot for this dish - which contains the maximum nitrate levels. Combine this with lentils - rich in cholesterol-lowering fibre, a great source of iron and packed with B vitamins that protect against heart disease - you are onto a winner!

This is really easy to make and perfect for both summer and autumnal evenings - so give it a go and let me know what you think!

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Puy lentils, washed and drained
1 beetroot, grated
1 lemon
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
10g flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. chilli flakes
150g halloumi
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Grab yourself a large pan and add your Puy lentils. Cover with 1.5 cups of water (3x the volume of Puy lentils) and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes.
Zest the lemon and roughly chop the parsley. Put half the parsley in a large bowl and add a pinch of lemon zest and olive oil.
Peel and coarsely grate the beetroot. Add it to the bowl with the parsley dressing and squeeze in half the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the lentils are cooked, drain and cool.
Grab a small frying pan and place on a high heat. Add the halloumi and brown both sides - this is roughly 3 minutes on each side.
Once the lentils are cool, add to the beetroot and stir well.
Place the lentils and beetroot onto a large plate, top with the halloumi and sprinkle the remaining half of parsley.