Lentil and Quinoa Salad
Lentil and Quinoa Salad
This salad is a complete meal all by itself. The quinoa offers a complete set of proteins. The lentils fill your need for dietary fiber and contain a host of important vitamins. Once you prepare the quinoa and the lentils the salad can be taken in any direction you like. This one leans toward Greek. There is no limit to what you can make with these two main ingredients.
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3/4 cup lentils, in this case green, if you use the red reduce the cooking time
1/2 red onion
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 english cucumber cut in large dice
1 red pepper, seeded and ribs removed, cut in large dice
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In two separate pots heat 2 1/2 cups of water with one tablespoon of olive oil for the quinoas. In the other heat 3 cups of water for the lentils. Once heated to the boiling add the quinoa to one pot, cover and reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. This should take about 15 minutes for the quinoa to absorb all the water. Remove from the heat and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Cover and let stand off the heat.
Meanwhile in the pot for the lentils, once the water starts to boil add the red onion, the garlic, the bay leaf and the thyme. Toss in the lentils and stir. Cover the lentils, reduce the heat to simmer and cook the lentils until they are tender by not mushy, depending on the freshness of the lentils it could take 20 to 40 minutes. Once cooked remove from the heat.
In a large mixing bowl add the quinoa, the lentils, and the remaining salad ingredients. Toss the ingredients to mix. Add the olive oil and the vinegar toss again, and test for salt and pepper.
This works well warm or cold. It also is a complete meal or serves well as a side dish. This recipe will make 4 rather large servings.