Lentil & Quinoa Salad with Curry Vinaigrette

October was quite a month in this household.  Lots of family and the time went by too quickly.  It also meant not much time for blogging (even though we still ate well -- I made sure of that).

I was hoping to get back to blogging right away but unfortunately, I came down with a cold (as did our baby girl) so my grand plans for the week's dinners suddenly changed to soup and pizza.  I finally felt like cooking again last night but seeing that I hadn't gone to the grocery store in about 2 weeks, the options were limited.  We like lentils and quinoa so I decided to go with that.  Just about the only vegetable in our house is carrots so I googled "lentils and quinoa with carrots" and stumbled on this recipe.  I was intrigued by the curry vinaigrette so we had to give this a try.

We really enjoyed this! Not only did it use everything we had on hand but this also came together very quickly (a must when your sick baby just wants to be carried).  And it doesn't really get much healthier than this which is just what I wanted.  I imagine the leftovers will be just as delicious -- if not better!

Lentil & Quinoa Salad with Curry VinaigretteTaken from: Playing with My Food
Serves 4-6

• 6 cups cold unsalted water (for the lentils)
• 1-1/2 cups French green lentils, rinsed (I actually had sprouted lentils so I made those according to the package directions instead)
• 2 cups cold unsalted water (for the quinoa)
• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (I used a combination of cilantro and parsley from our herb garden)
• salt and pepper, for serving
• sriracha, for serving (optional)

GINGER CURRY VINAIGRETTE:

• Juice of 1/2 large lemon
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2-3 tsp. Madras curry powder (I only used 2)
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp olive oil

1. Place water and lentils in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until tender but not mushy.
2. At the same time, cook the quinoa in another saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for 10-15 minutes until slightly translucent.  (Alternatively, you can add 2 cups of water and 1 cup quinoa to a rice cooker and turn it on.)
3. Drain both the lentils and quinoa and add to a large salad bowl.
4. Add the grated carrots
5. Add the chopped cilantro.
6. In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients except the olive oil. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking as you go until blended.   (Instead, you throw everything into a jar, screw on a lid and shake well to blend the vinaigrette.)
7. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to mix. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.