Two supermarket staples—canned lentils and precooked beets—come together to create this vibrant no-cook salad. Precooked beets, sold in vacuum packs at the supermarket, deserve more love. They are an excellent ingredient to have on hand in the fridge for weeknight cooking. With precooked beets, you can have a smoothie in seconds, a dip in minutes, and a salad in just a few moments more. Here, I’ve pickled them and then added them to hearty lentils for a dish that is textural and bright—the tart beets are deftly balanced by the creamy tahini-yogurt. The beets need only an hour to take on the pickling flavor, but you could leave them overnight in the fridge for more intensity.

1. Make the pickled beets: In a medium ceramic bowl, place the vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and salt and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Add the beets and shallot and toss to combine. Set aside for at least 1 hour, or store in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. Drain before using.

2. Make the tahini-yogurt: In a small bowl, place the yogurt, tahini, and garlic and whisk to combine. Add 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and whisk until the mixture is thick but spreadable (if it is too thick, add a little more water). Season with salt and lots of pepper.

3. In a medium bowl, place the drained pickled beets, the shallot, the lentils, and three-quarters of the dill. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle generously with olive oil. Toss again.

4. Spread the tahini-yogurt onto a serving plate, top with the beets and lentils, and finish with the candied nuts (see below) and remaining dill.

To make the Candied Any-Nuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, place the nuts, maple syrup, and sea salt and toss to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake until the nuts have begun to crystallize, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 3 to 4 minutes before breaking apart the clusters. Cool completely.

From Linger: Salads, Sweets and Stories to Savor © 2025 by Hetty Lui McKinnon. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.