Felix Wessler’s Lentil Salad with Cottage Cheese

Last week I met up with Chef Felix Wessler at the Max & Otto Restaurant in Zürich. The Menu at Max & Otto is inspired by Felix’s travels around the world but he places a lot of importance on using seasonal and local products as much as possible.

I asked Felix what the best dish to share with the world would be and he right away mentioned his famous Lentil Salad with Cottage Cheese. Felix has been preparing this dish for years and has been sharing the recipe with friends, family and customers who fall in love with it right away when tasting it at Max & Otto and want to recreate it at home.

This dish is not only delicious but also very easy to make and doesn’t require any special skills or kitchen utensils. As soon as Felix shared this recipe with me I tried making it at home and was impressed by the tastes and delicacy of this salad.

Prep Time: 20 Miutes

Cooking Time: 25 Minutes + 3 Hours Resting Time

Ingredients for the Lentils:

• Beluga Lentils - 500 g

• Balsamic Vinegar (Dark) - 200 ml

• Boiling Water - 2L

• Juniper Berries - 10

• Bay Leaves - 5

Ingredients for the Dressing:

• White Onion - 1

• Parsley - 60 g

• Dill - 25 g

• Grape seed Oil - 400 ml

• Balsamic Vinegar (White) - 200 ml

• Mustard (medium) - 120 g

• Cottage Cheese - 400 g

• Salt

• Pepper

• Sugar

• Caraway Seeds

How to:

1. To start making this delicious recipe you will have to add the dark balsamic vinegar, the Juniper Berries, the Bay Leaves to the 2L of water and bring everything to boil.

2. Also add 1.5 Tbs of Sugar and 1 Tbs of salt to the boiling water.

3. Now it’s time to add the Beluga Lentils and cook them for 19-22 minutes (taste them at 19 and see if they need more time).

4. Drain them but do not wash them with cold water - put aside.

5. While your Beluga Lentils are cooking you can start preparing the dressing. Cut the onion into small pieces put it in a bowl and add the white balsamic vinegar, grape seed oil, parsley, mustard, 30 g of salt a sprinkle of pepper and 25 g of sugar.

6. Puree everything until a smooth, green dressing is obtained.

7. Place the lentils in a bowl and pour 2/3ds of the dressing on them. Mix everything, cover with a foil and leave to rest at room temperature for 3 hours.

8. Once the 3 hours are done you can start plating - put the lentils in a plate, add some cottage cheese on top a sprinkle of pepper and garnish with fresh herbs, some caraway seeds and some line seed oil.