Curried Quinoa Salad with Lentils

I cannot quite believe how fast August is flashing by.  That said I am determined to enjoy every bit of summer, including the wonderful fresh peppers at the market. 

Today’s lunchbox contains a new recipe – Curried Quinoa Salad with Lentils – but unlike the picture where the peppers are sliced, I think they would be better if chopped for this salad.  Before we get to the recipe, here is the lunchbox:

• Curried Quinoa Salad with Lentils (see recipe below)
• Raw carrots
• Tempeh roasted according to the instructions in this recipe
• Pumpkin Chia Pudding
• Frozen Zucchini Smoothie

Speaking of the Frozen Zucchini Smoothie, have you seen the Zucchini Chocolate Blog Party I am co-hosting with Victoria of District Chocoholic.  There are options to participate whether you can eat gluten or not. Victoria will be hosting the gluten-based recipe roundup while I will be hosting the gluten-free roundup.

And now, the recipe for the quinoa salad.  I was trying to go for a tangy flavor profile. One of my favorite things when I was growing up was a curried yogurt sauce my mom made.  While I no longer eat dairy, the tang from the lemon and creaminess from the cashews works well to approximate this sauce:

Curried Quinoa Salad with Lentils (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free) – Makes 3-4 servings

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup green lentils (or you could use this truRoots sprouted bean trio) 
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 3 Tbsps lemon juice
• 1 tsp gluten-free curry powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tsp agave or other liquid sweetener
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chopped red pepper (about 1-2 red peppers)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped scallions

Cook lentils and quinoa according to package directions (or do what I did: throw both in the rice cooker and guesstimate a ratio of water and let the rice cooker do the rest- mine ended up only slightly too mush).  While lentils and quinoa are cooking, blend the cashews, lemon juice, water, agave, curry powder and salt in a high-speed blender until creamy (alternative: use a food processor and add the water gradually).  Set aside.  When quinoa and lentils are cooked, combined and add just enough dressing to coat the mixture.  You may have some dressing leftover depending how heavily dressed you like your salad.  Add red pepper and scallions and stir to combine. Served chilled or at room temperature.

I am submitting this recipe to the following weekly events starting with:

Summer Wellness Weekend, hosted by Ricki of Diet, Desserts and Dogs. The concept behind Summer Wellness Weekends is “any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.).” The turmeric in curry has healing properties, and red peppers are full of vitamin C.

A blog event hosted by Flip Cookbook called Sugar Free Sunday, which includes sweet and savory dishes made with non-refined sugars.

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday with Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free – almond with chocolate and banana tastes decadent, yet is only slightly indulgent.

Gluten-Free Wednesday, hosted by the Gluten-Free Homemaker.

Real Food Weekly with Diane of The WHOLE Gang.

I am also submitting this recipe to the following monthly events, two favorites of mine:

This is my submission to this month’s No Croutons Required which has as lentil theme. As you know from my past participation in this event, every month a different ingredient is chosen and participants must submit a vegetarian soup or salad.  Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen  and Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes take turns hosting the event. This month, Jac is hosting with a request for recipes containing lentils.

I am also submitting this to a second beloved blog event: My Legume Love Affair, a blog event dedicated to all things legume, created by Susan of Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by W’Rite Food.

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