Lemony Lentil and Rice Salad

I love a good rice salad. They’re perfect for lunches, potlucks and sometimes in-car eating on road trips. Boston is a 7-hour drive from Ottawa, so anyway your slice it, you’re going to need something to eat at some point. As it’s not exactly to find vegan-friendly roadside options, I thought I’d try making this salad and see how well it travelled. As it turns out, pretty darn well.

If you stuff all of the ingredients into a large ziplock bag, keeping the nuts and dressing separate until you’re ready eat, the crunch of the pecans and the zing of the dressing come through loud and clear.

When lunchtime rolled around, we were nowhere near a good stop point so we kept rolling. I added the nuts and dressing to the bag, rolled and shook the salad until it was evenly coated and served in bowls en route. Not only were we satisfied, but we saved the 30 minutes it would have taken to stop. Who doesn’t love a salad that is both delicious and car-service freindly?

Clearly the photo compliment above is not the salad I made in the ziplock but the second go round. Hope you like it enought to make it twice too!

Crunchy Lentil and Rice Salad

loosely based on recipe from Gourmet, 2000
Prep Time: 30 minutes / Active Time: 5 minutes / Serves: 4

For the salad:

1 cup basmati rice, cooked as per instructions on packaging
1 cup french green or beluga lentils
1 tbsp vegetable stock cube, powder or paste
1 clove garlic, peeled & smashed
4 green onions, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup english cucumber, seeded and diced
1 cup quartered heirloom tomatoes
1 small bulb fennel, shaved
1/2 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup spiced pecans

For the dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 tbsp white balsamic vinigar
2 tbsp lemon juice + zest of one lemon
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to boil, add vegetable stock, garlic and lentils. Stir well and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, including pecans, add dressing, toss until evenly coated and serve.

Everything should be this easy.