Writing click-bait titles is not something I plan to get into, BUT: Friends, just this time, can you forgive me? I’m really impressed by this salad. I tried it for the first time last Friday afternoon at an end-of-school party, and I’ve done it every other day since.
Are you ready for the recipe? Visit your local Trader Joe’s and pick up: 1 tub of bruschetta sauce, 1 tub of shredded feta cheese and 1 box of cooked lentils. Combine however you want. Throw. Taste. Adjust to taste with more feta sauce or bruschetta or both.
The post should end here with a “Goodbye! Have a good summer!”, but believe it or not, you may encounter some obstacles: The first problem you may encounter is not being able to find cooked lentils. My Trader Joe’s has been out of lentils for weeks, but I found a good alternative at Niskayuna Co-op: Melissa’s Produce steamed lentils. You, of course, could cook lentils yourself, which is not difficult and which is more profitable, but hey, should we try to live a little this summer? It’s hard, I know.
The second problem you may encounter is not being able to find bruschetta sauce, although this is unlikely: most Trader Joe’s receive daily deliveries, including bruschetta sauce.
The third problem you may encounter is that you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby. This problem is a bit harder to solve, as it will require creativity on your part or a follow-up blog post on mine when the tomatoes finally arrive. Stay tuned.
Friends, as you know, I’m the first to tell you to cook beans from scratch, make bread, make broth, whisk a vinaigrette, make harissa, shkug and anything else that just tastes better homemade. Cooking never feels like a chore to me, and I usually avoid “recipes” like this because they often taste somewhat artificial or too sweet or too salty, etc.
But this lentil salad is very, very good. A bite at the party made me push the guests away by asking, “Did you make the lentil salad?” No? Do you know who did it? When I found out it was Gail, whose husband runs Albany Trader Joe’s, it all made sense.
A bruschetta sauce from scratch and homemade lentils wouldn’t make this salad incredibly complicated, but the point here is that isn’t it good to know, when you’re in trouble (or not), you can pick up three products, throw them together, and call your side dish from dinner or food or lunch contribution for the week done?
Friends, have you made this salad? I did it on Instagram stories yesterday and was surprised to learn that people have been doing this for years! Do you know? Do you love it? Do you know any other Trader Joe’s hacks?
PS: Homemade Bruschetta Sauce Recipe (Trader Joe Imitation Recipe)
PPS: Addictive Black Lentils with Spinach and Labneh Here’s
a game of plaand… drum roll please… let’s make the simplest recipe to date in the history of Alexandra’s Kitchen. Gather your ingredients: feta cheese, cooked lentils, bruschetta sauce.
<img src="https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ingredients.jpg" alt="
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Open the containers…
and pour into a bowl (or measure: 1.5 cups cooked lentils, 1.5 cups bruschetta sauce, .5 cups feta cheese).
src=”https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/tomatoeslentilsfeta.jpg” alt=”Bowl of lentils, bruschetta sauce and feta cheese.” />
Ta-da!!
