Lentil Quinoa Salad with Golden Raisins and Lemon Dressing.It’s packed with fresh flavors, is gluten free, healthy and has 8g of protein per serving.
LENTIL QUINOA SALAD WITH RAISINS AND LEMON DRESSING
I adapted this recipe last week from one I found in a recipe book that used cous cous, I really think you’ll like it!
If you’ve never worked with quinoa before then I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised as it cooks pretty quickly and in my opinion it’s much easier to deal with than rice.
If you measure the water correctly according to the instructions on the pack then you should find that the quinoa will absorb almost all the water and you shouldn’t have to drain it much, if at all.
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I used plain old green lentils for this recipe. They did not require soaking and cooked nicely in about 20 minutes.
If you can find the French Puy Lentil which are basically a more expensive fancy green lentil that comes from the French region of Le Puy then you could try them too.
Puy Lentils are very nice and hold their shape much better after cooking than your average green lentil they also have a bit more robust flavor.
I haven’t seen them in my grocery store here in Mississippi but I did cook with them a lot when I lived in London. You can order them from Amazon if you follow the link above.
The blend of flavors in this lentil quinoa salad is so fresh and light, I think the combination of fresh mint and parsley together really transform this from an ordinary ho-hum salad to something really special, and the golden raisins add just enough sweetness.
Even my children who are typically hard to please when it comes to salad ate several bowls of it.
Or what about this Healthy Broccoli Salad from Bless Her Heat y’all, it looks really lovely!
You can’t go wrong with potato salad and my easy Potato Salad is a nice spin on the classic version.
Lentil Quinoa Salad with Golden Raisins and Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup green lentils , rinsed
- 3/4 cup quinoa , rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , quartered
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- 1 tsp grated lemon rind
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Rinse lentils with cold water and cook according to the instructions on the packet, you should not need to pre-soak them. I used green lentils and they took about 20 minutes to cook. Once they are cooked, drain and allow to cool.
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In a separate pan rinse the quinoa and cook according to the instructions on the packet, it usually takes about 15-20 minutes. Once cooked remove from the heat and fluff with a fork, if the water has been measured correctly then the quinoa should have absorbed it all.
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Combine green lentils, quinoa, tomatoes, raisins, onion, cucumber, parsley and mint into a large bowl that you can serve it from.
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Mix together the lemon rind, lemon juice and olive oil and pour over salad and toss well.
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Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve chilled.
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