Method
To sprout your own lentils, place the lentils in a smallish glass bowl or jug and cover with plenty of cold water. Soak the lentils overnight, then drain and rinse them. Return the seeds to the bowl and cover loosely with a square of clean cotton cloth. Leave somewhere cool and bright; they don’t need to be in the fridge.
After 24 hours, rinse the lentils in fresh, cold water, drain them and leave them for another 24 hours. Repeat this 24-hour ‘rinsing-and-leaving’ process once more. After the three days, you’ll notice that each lentil will begin to sprout a little shoot. They are ready to eat at this point.
To make the salad, cut the celeriac (celery root) into really fine matchsticks. You can do this using a mandolin or with a sharp knife. Either way, it’s important the pieces aren’t too thick, so take your time. Place the celeriac in a bowl and sprinkle over the sea salt. Give it a good tumble, then let it sit for 10–15 minutes. Pick up handfuls of celeriac and give it a good squeeze. You want to get rid of some of those salty juices. Pop the squeezed celeriac into a clean bowl. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing with pepper to taste and stir it through the celeriac.
Arrange the dressed celeriac over the base of a plate and tear over the ham. Dress a couple of handfuls of sprouted lentils with the lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil and scatter these over the top. Strew the salad with the parsley leaves and serve.
