Day 251 - Quinoa & Beluga Lentil Salad

Trying to minimize white rice from the daily diet is harder than one thinks. For one, the pearly whites are so accessible and the devious temptation in the form of shorter cooking times is often hard to resist. But its well worth the effort to make a hearty protein rich dish like this quinoa and Beluga lentil salad. Yes it does take some time (~15 minutes) to cook the lentils and quinoa separately, but those minutes are well spent prepping the vegetables that are tossed in almost equal volume.

You need:
2 cup cooked Quinoa (I used a blend of tri colored quinoa)
2 cup cooked whole Beluga lentils (or whole plain Masoor dal)
1 diced Zucchini (I ran it through a spiralizer and made them into a spagetti
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 small bell pepper diced.
1 small cucumber diced (after removing the central seedy core)

Toss all the ingredients together and fold to combine.

For the Dressing:

Juice of 1 orange + 1 teaspoon of the orange zest.
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup EVOO
a sprinkle of Dried Herbs (I used Oregano)
Salt and pepper to taste
Mint leaves, either cut into a chiffonade or torn

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bottle and shake until it forms a cloudy emulsion. Pour over the salad and  fold to incorporate. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Garnish with mint & serve chilled or at room temperature