Marinated Sweet Cherries with Green Lentils and Spinach

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup small green lentils
• 1 cup (bouillon, cube, or paste) vegetable broth
• 1-2 halved cloves garlic
• 1 green onion
• 1 Tbsp (red/white wine, cider, rice) vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp (Dijon, grainy, yellow) mustard
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 cup washed, pitted, quartered BC Tree Fruits cherries
• 2-4 cups fresh cleaned and dried spinach

Directions

1. 1

   white part minced, greens chopped for garnish

2. 2

   Cook the lentils first. Sort/rinse lentils. Cover with broth, add garlic. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20-45 minutes until tender but not falling apart.
   

3. 3

   Mince the whites of the green onion. Marinate the Cherries with the green onion, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, thyme leaves, salt, pepper, sugar and cherries. Strain the vinaigrette from the cherries and toss it into the hot, drained lentils.

4. 4

   Arrange the lentils over the spinach on a platter or on individual serving dishes. The heat will wilt the spinach just a bit. Top with marinated cherries, garnish with chopped green onion tops. Makes 2 large portions; recipe can be doubled.