Black Beluga Lentil Salad & Tzatziki

The film Forever Young  visits two of the world’s  Blue Zones, places on the planet where people live super long lives: Okinawa, Japan and Sardinia, Italy.  And what do all Blue Zoners have in common? They all rely on legumes for protein — beans, peas, lentils, etc.— says my buddy Harriet Sugar Miller, quoting the author of two Blue Zone books.

I’ve been dying to sample some Black Beluga lentils, so Tanya Linton‘s Lentil Salad with Tzatziki seemed like the perfect dish. Her new cookbook 150 Best Meals in a Jar champions pre-prepared and pre-proportioned plant based meals. That should help us stretch towards infinity.

• 1 c grated cucumber, grated, well strained (comes to 1/2 cup after squeezing all the water out)
• 1 c 2% plain Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1 T chopped dill

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients and chill.

Black Beluga Lentil Salad with Tzatziki

• 1 c cooked lentils
• 1 c arugula
• 1/2 c halved cherry tomatoes or chopped cucumber
• 1/4 c crumbled feta
• 2 T chopped dill
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T tzatziki
• 1 T each lemon juice, olive oil

Although Tanya wants us to arrange this salad in a mason jar, I prefer a horizontal pose to emphasize its beauty. In a  shallow bowl, place arugula on the bottom, make a mountain of lentils in the center, distribute the tomatoes and feta around the lentils. Indent the top of the lentil mountain with the back of a spoon and fill the indent with tzatziki. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, dill, lemon juice and olive oil. Serves 1 – 2. Delicious with freshly toasted buttered bread — but then again, what isn’t?

Black Beluga Lentil Salad with Tzatziki Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Why legumes? Maybe it’s their spermidine, often called a longevity elixir because it helps your body mop up damaged cells, says Harriet.  Why is it called spermidine? Here’s a hint.
• Here’s everything you always wanted to know about lentils.
• Not everyone wants to live forever. Here are 5 reasons why immortality is overrated.
• Aubrey De Grey a Cambridge University researcher, heads the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (in common terms, aging) project. He has defined seven causes, all of which he thinks can be halted.
• Have you heard One Direction‘s Infinity?