What is The Vegan(ish) Experiment?

Our family (me, my husband D, and our four-year-old Molly) started 2009 with a mostly-vegan, macrobiotic-inspired diet (although I have to admit, the strict macro rules have pretty much gone out the window). I have seen a marked improvement in my chronic migraines, and I'm enjoying proving that we can make amazing, mouth-watering, memorable food without animal products. For a more in-depth intro, click here.

I stopped updating this blog quite awhile back, when life got in the way. I'm still keeping a mostly vegan kitchen, though, and loving it. Have fun browsing my recipes!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Day 159: Lentil Salad with Cilantro-Cumin Dressing

It's FINALLY warming up here. Supposed to get cool again by the end of the week, but I'm ignoring that fact for now. Warm weather means nice salads at our house - the kind you can make and leave in the fridge for days, and they get better every day. Yum!

This recipe was inspired by the one here (for cooking the lentils) and the one here (one of my favorites). The dressing is so good - I'd definitely make it again for a regular green salad!

Lentil Salad with Cilantro-Cumin Dressing
(The side dish is Simple Cauliflower from 101 Cookbooks - a recipe we just discovered and have made twice in the last week, just because it's so good.)

Ingredients:
2 c. dry lentils
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1 t. minced garlic
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

3/4 c. cilantro leaves, unpacked
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. lime juice
1 T cumin (I used a little more because I'm a cumin fanatic)
salt to taste

3 small, or two large, multi-colored bell peppers, diced
1 (4-oz.) can diced fire-roasted green chiles
1 (14-oz.) can corn kernels
a bunch scallions, chopped (save the white part for another recipe)

Directions:
  1. Put the lentils, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a large pot. Cover with 1 1/2-2 inches water and bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Drain if necessary.
  3. While waiting for water to boil, start the dressing: blend cilantro and olive oil in a food processor. Leave at room temperature while lentils are cooking so that the cilantro infuses the oil.
  4. Chop peppers and scallions.
  5. While lentils are draining, finish the salad dressing: add lime juice and cumin to the food processor and blend well. Add salt to taste.
  6. Combine drained lentils, vegetables, and dressing. Season with salt as needed. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

4 comments:

  1. looks really good! I'LL TRY IT.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mom - hope you enjoy it! I was thinking that if I make it again, it would be nice to mix some chopped cilantro into the salad, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE cilantro. I'll have to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. we had the lentil salad last night - loved it. Ours looked awful - I'd used orange lentils because that's what I had - they fell apart so it looked like mush, but the taste was wonderful! I'll definitely do again.
    Tell me about your "top health blogger" button on the left of your blog...

    ReplyDelete

I love it when people come back and tell me how the recipes turned out - please consider doing so! Thanks!

 

blogger templates