Lentil and Quinoa Salad with Basil and Lemon

A quick post for a busy week…

This salad was a random creation inspired by Heather’s Quinoa Recipe. It was outstanding! Colorful and full of texture, and remarkably healthy with loads of protein from the quinoa and lentils plus healthy fat from the seeds and olive oil. It all comes together in one pan for an easy one pot meal that would be great hot or cold.

The quantities given in the recipe aren’t exact – like I said, I threw this together. Just do what feels right; it’s hard to go wrong!

Lentil and Quinoa Salad with Basil and Lemon

olive oil
1 shallot, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 handful of frozen sweetcorn
1/4 zucchini, diced
handful of chard, finely chopped
quinoa, cooked
puy lentils, cooked
handful of basil and parsley
squeeze of lemon juice
salad leaves

Saute the shallot in the olive oil until soft. Add the pepper, corn, chard and zucchini and saute until tender. Add the quinoa and puy lentils and cook until warmed through. Right before serving, stir in a good amount of basil and parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Sprinkle with toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds and serve on a bed of lettuce.

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Hanlie

August 4th, 2009 at 10:59 pm

I was standing with the quinoa in my hands today, but didn’t buy it. I definitely want to try this recipe, so I’m going to buy that quinoa!

Alicia

August 5th, 2009 at 3:08 am

I love legume/bean, grain and veggie salads. The combination of pumpkins seeds and sunflower seeds is interesting. I usually stick with one type of nut in my salads (although at this moment I am not certain why that is). Thanks for the idea.

BTW, we couldn’t find any fresh fava beans but did get some young fresh limas. I am going to make a variation of your fava and mint soup tomorrow. I will let you know if the substitution works.

Monica Shaw

August 5th, 2009 at 5:59 am

@Hanlie – You should definitely buy it, even if you don’t make this salad. One of the best things about quinoa is that it cooks in about 10 minutes, so it’s really handy for quick meals.

@Alicia – I think any toasted seed would work (toasted almonds, cashews, etc). Interested to hear how that soup works with the limas… let me know!