Ingredient:

• Salad
• 1 ½ cups black beluga lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups grated carrots (about ¾ pound or 5 to 6 medium carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with a grating attachment)
• ¾ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ cup (⅓ ounce) fresh dill leaves, tough stems removed, torn into small pieces
• ½ cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onion
• ½ cup chopped pickled pepperoncini pepper
• Optional cheese: ½ cup tiny cubes of havarti, havarti dill, mild cheddar, or crumbled feta
• Tahini-dill dressing
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup (⅓ ounce) fresh dill leaves, tough stems removed
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (scale back or omit if sensitive to spice), to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste