Rinse and drain lentils. Add lentils along with onion, celery, carrots, cabbage, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, thyme to your slow cooker.
Cut excess ham away from bone and save for later.
Add ham bone and 7 cups of broth to slow cooker. Stir to combine, cover and cook on low for about 7 hours, stirring once or twice.
While soup is cooking, coursely chop or shred ham. Cover and refrigerate until soup is ready.
Remove ham bone and bay leaf from soup. Adjust consistency with the additional cup of broth. Stir in chopped ham and white vinegar. Cover and allow to cook for 5-10 more minutes to warm ham. Add a generous sprinkle of fresh dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and more fresh dill.
Recipe Notes
a smoked pork hock will work in place of a meaty ham bone.
for a vegetarian/vegan option, use vegetable broth and omit the ham and sour cream.
Preheat oven to 350℉. In a medium bowl toss together potatoes, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Spread out evenly on a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes, turning once, until just tender.
While potatoes are baking, combine together mayonnaise, parmesan, capers, dill, lemon juice and pepper.
Remove potatoes from oven and gently flatten each with a flat surfaced utensil (I use a metal potato masher) to a third of its original height.
Set oven rack to 7" from broiler and turn oven to broil. Spread 1 tbsp of paste onto each potato. Broil for 2-3 minutes until golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and serve immediately, garnishing with fresh dill if desired.
Cook beets in lightly salted simmering water until fork tender, approximately 15-18 minutes depending on size. Prepare dressing while beets are cooking. Drain and cool with cold running water. Once cool to the touch, trim off top and bottom and peel off skin, which should remove easily. Place beets onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb any run off beet juice. Cut beets into large bite size chunks.
Arrange approximately 2 cups of mixed greens onto plate. Cut apple half in half and remove core. Slice into 1/4" slices and spread half of the apple over mixed greens. Top with half the beets and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of pistachios. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with additional fresh dill fronds. Season with freshly cracked pepper and sea salt if desired. Serve immediately.
Dressing
Using a blender or mini food processor, blend together all ingredients except feta until combined and smooth. Add feta and pulse a few times to combine yet retain some feta texture. Keep chilled until ready to use.
Recipe Notes
-I used the elongated cylindra beets which cook quickly and peel easily. Â Globe style beets can be used, just adjust cooking time according to size of beet.
-This recipe makes about 2/3 cup of dressing which may be more than you need, however it is difficult to blend smaller amounts. Â Use any extra on sweet potato fries or lamb burgers.
-This recipe makes 4 starter size salads if desired.
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