Hello folks! Is it too late to say “Happy New Year!”? In my book, better late than never… so, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope 2023 is treating you right so far.
This brown rice & lentil salad is definitely better late than never. It came into being, like so many of my recipes, one day when I walked into my kitchen hungry for lunch, but with no idea what I was going to eat. A few minutes of rooting around in the fridge was rewarded with… sigh… some leftover cooked lentils and leftover brown rice. “Meh” to the nth degree! What’s a hungry girl to do??
I could have just resorted to Food Panda (for my non-Manila readers, Food Panda is our take-out delivery service- dangerously convenient!) But as fast as FP is, I wanted food now… anybody with me? So I rooted around in my vegetable fridge… yes, I admit I have a whole fridge (it is smaller, though!) devoted to only veggies. I feel like that will probably be overkill once Sara goes to college this fall and it’s only myself and Mark in the house, but for now it’s what we do. I’ll keep you posted.
My veggie fridge produced fresh parsley, red bell peppers, carrots & spring onions. Jackpot! I could now make my boring leftovers into something nice. I quickly chopped the veggies, dumped them into a mixing bowl along with my lentils and brown rice, and dressed it with my homemade red wine vinaigrette. And voila! Lunch was served quicker than I could spell my last name 8 times to the Food Panda guy. I consider this a win all around.
I love this salad for so many reasons. One is obviously how quick it is to put together (given that you have the lentils and rice already cooked.) Another thing is that it uses up leftovers, which, if you know me, is one of my life goals (it must be genetic because my Gramma Hall was the same.) And even better, this salad is just so delicious and healthy. It contains complete protein from the combined lentils and rice, and is high in fiber to keep me full throughout the afternoon. The veggies provide vitamin C, beta carotene, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that ward off chronic disease. I also add walnuts for crunch and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. And finally, you can use whatever veggies you have in your fridge that need to be used… broccoli, celery, basil, leftover roasted veggies… the possibilities are endless.
So there you go, lunch sorted for one more day… or maybe two… if you don’t mind leftovers.
Happy lunching, friends!
Brown Rice & Lentil Salad
Notes
Prep time is if you’re using cooked lentils & brown rice. If you need to cook, add about 45 min to the total time. Once you put the lentils & rice on to cook, you have downtime to do something else or prep the rest of your salad.
Ingredients
- Dressing:
- ½ t. Dijon mustard
- 1 t. honey
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- ½ t. salt
- black pepper to taste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 T. red wine vinegar
- ½ c. + 2T. extra-virgin olive oil
- Salad:
- 1 ½ cup cooked brown or green lentils (start with ½ cup dry lentils)
- 3 cups cooked brown rice (start with 1 cup dry rice)
- ¼ cup chopped parsley (or other fresh herb of choice)
- ¼ cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 diced carrot
- 1-2 spring onions (white and green part), sliced
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1-2 oz feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
Instructions
- For the dressing: whisk Dijon, honey, garlic, salt & pepper in a medium bowl until combined into a smooth paste. Add lemon & red wine vinegar and mix well. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly, until mixture becomes homogenous. Makes about 1 cup dressing (you will use about ½ for this salad.) Refrigerate remainder to use as salad dressing.
- For the salad: combine all ingredients except feta cheese in a large mixing bowl. Pour over about ½ cup dressing and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add more dressing if desired. Top with feta cheese if using. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. Makes about 4-5 main dish servings or 8 side dish servings.
Love this salad. Adding a tablespoon of tahini to the dressing makes it extra special.
Marilyn, yes! Tahini is a wonderful idea… I love it paired with lentils. Thank you! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this salad. 🙂
This was really good! Thank you.