Smoked Lentil Salad with Walnuts

 

1 cup lentils
4 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp mustard

5 Tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp salt

⅛ tsp ground black pepper

1 large red bell pepper

½ cup Walnut Halves, toasted and chopped

⅓ cup Sweet Onion, such as Vidalia, chopped

6 oz Smoked Cheese, such as Mozzarella, diced

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 tea Liquid Smoke

Bring the broth and lentils to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still firm, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, let sit for 10 minutes in the broth and then drain. Place lentils in a large bowl. While the lentils are cooking, mix the lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a bowl or jar. Add the vinaigrette to the warm lentils and toss. Set aside. Dice the pepper into 1/2″ pieces. When the lentils are warm or at room temperature, add the red pepper, walnuts, onion, mozzarella and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss and serve.