Name: Lentil and Wild Rice Summer Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked lentils or 3/4 cup dried lentils; 1/2 cup wild rice; 1 yellow squash, diced large; 1/2 bunch asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces; 1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and cut in bite-sized pieces; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half; 1/4 cup slivered almonds; 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1/2 tsp. maple syrup; 1 tsp. fresh thyme; salt and pepper

Description

This Lentil and Wild Rice Salad with Summer Vegetables will be your official salad of summer. It’s absolutely perfect as a side or hearty enough for a lunch or light dinner. Gluten-free and vegan.

Ingredients

Scale

Salad

2 cups cooked lentils or 3/4 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup wild rice
1 yellow squash, diced large
1/2 bunch asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces
1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and cut in bite-sized pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Thyme Balsamic Dressing

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. fresh thyme
salt and pepper

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Instructions

If you’re cooking lentils, rinse those and get them started according to package directions.

Rinse the wild rice well and drain. Add it, along with 2 cups of water to a medium sized pot. You’ll want something larger than you think, because we’ll be steaming our vegetables in this pot too. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down heat to simmer for 45 minutes.

After the rice has cooked 45 minutes, carefully and quickly remove the lid to add the squash and asparagus, along with another 1/4 cup water. Replace the lid and steam the vegetables with the rice another 5 minutes. You may need to turn up the heat if all of the steam escapes, just be careful not to burn the rice.

Once the vegetables are just cooked, drain any excess water, fluff up the wild rice and let it all cool for a few minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

While the rice and vegetables are cooling, you can prepare the the dressing.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, maple syrup

and fresh thyme. Whisk to combine. Continue to whisk and slowly add in the olive oil until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, combine wild rice, squash, asparagus, tomatoes, kale, almonds and lentils. Toss gently, adding a few tablespoons of dressing at a time to taste.

Notes

For the lentils, I like to use a hearty variety, like the french lentil, but a green lentil would work well too. I often buy the steamed (pre-cooked) lentils from Trader Joe's.

When I'm washing my kale, I like to give it a good massage in warm water to soften it up a bit.

Nutrition

Serving Size:
Calories: 217
Sugar: 4 g
Sodium: 18 mg
Fat: 12 g
Carbohydrates: 21.2 g
Protein: 8.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg