Just because you are eating a gluten free diet, doesn’t mean you have to sacrafice on taste. Why not create a salad that is healthy, delicious and gluten free? The lemon and parsley give it a fresh and light flavor and the combination of quinoa, lentils and beans provide a wonderful balance of texture. Now, that will put a smile on your face!
Quinoa, Lentil, and Garbanzo Salad
Ingredients:
- ½ cup French green lentils, aka lentils du puy
- about 1 – 1 ½ cups quinoa
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 Tbl of good quality olive oil
- 1 Tbl fresh chopped parsley
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Directions:
Rinse lentils under water. Place in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cover and cook until all water has absorbed and lentils are tender, about 20-30 minutes. While lentils are cooking, prepare quinoa. See Tip below. Keep covered for 5 more minutes while the lentils are cooking and then transfer to a bowl. Allow to cool slightly.
Add all other ingredients except lentils, and mix. When lentils are cooked and slightly cooled, add to the bowl and stir. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, lemon juice or olive oil. Serve room temp or cold.
Tip: To cook quinoa, rinse quinoa under water (unless it’s pre-rinsed; this removes the natural soapy residue it has). Place quinoa in a pot with twice as much water, for example, 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup of water. Add a pinch or two of salt. Bring this up to a boil, cover and lower to a simmer for 12-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
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Author Information: Amy Fothergill, San Francisco, CA
Amy Fothergill is the mother of two and owner of The Family Chef. She teaches cooking classes and provides consultations. She blends her culinary techniques with delicious ingredients to create gluten free, healthy dishes that the whole family enjoys.
Website: http://www.amythefamilychef.com
Blog: http://thefamilychef.blogspot.com (a food blog which is a blend of gluten free and regular recipes)
Email: amy@amythefamilychef.com
Gluten-free recipes: http://www.examiner.com/x-13910-SF-GlutenFree-Food-Examiner
I love salads and I think quinoa is perfect for salads. Its light texture makes salads even more tastier.
Thank you for this simple and great recipe!
Thank you for your comment! It is one of my favorite salads.
Thank you so much, I love to read about other vegetarians and vegans as it gives me the strength to continue. I have about a thousand vegetarian feeds in my google reader, but I’m sure another can’t hurt!! I did manage to find a good lentil recipes here, but I’ll be sure to try yours too. Thanks!
I posted a sweet potato-millet cake recipe recently that you would like. You can omit the egg from that dish. There’s also a quinoa-butternut squash dish. It’s quite easy to omit the cream and goat cheese. Make the quinoa with coconut milk; it’s delicious!
The recipes I made mention to on the prior comment are on my blog: http://thefamilychef.blogspot.com
Thak you for sharing recipe! Totally making that for lunch this week!