Lentil, Quinoa, and Orzo Salad

When a five year old says, “This is my favorite thing! I want more”, then it’s a sure bet that you have a winner on your hands. Then again, in all fairness, I need to tell you that this particular five year old does not like my homemade cookies. It may have something to do with the fact that his mother (my daughter, Tricia) is a chef, so his tastes have been trained in a slightly different direction–the kind of direction where food is sold at $300 a plate.

It’s amusing to watch a five year old and a two year old munching away on duck and scallops and filet mignon, offering their own personal critiques on the quality of the ingredients and the nuances of the flavors. They do it in their own language skill set, the five year old (Gavin) being the most verbose of the two boys. Kade (2) just plows through everything, pushing whatever he doesn’t like to one side of his plate and the rest in his mouth. If Kade is especially fond of something, he will hoard his own portions and steal extras off of his parent’s plates. Gavin is more civilized, he just asks for seconds.

On this salad, Gavin even asked for thirds, eating it like a man possessed. I’m on Gavin’s side, I went after thirds, too.

I have a confession, this was my first experience with cooking quinoa. Now I see what all the fuss is about. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first; I’m one of those people who is a little leery of new foods. With quinoa, I liked the texture, somewhat chewy with some of the grains giving a bit of a ‘pop’ as they are chewed. The flavor is mild and somewhat nutty. The most interesting thing for me was that I kept wanting more and more of it, unadorned except for the light saltiness it had picked up from the cooking water. Mixed with the salad ingredients and the dressing, I was more than content to keep eating this salad off and on throughout the day.

I just have to make an interjection right now…the plumbers are here!!!!!!!!!!! Today, in a few more minutes I will have running water in my kitchen for the first time in nearly a month! Soon, very, very soon, my new kitchen will be up and running. Imagine me doing a happy dance right now. No more doing dishes bent over a large bucket in the bathtub! Wahooooooo!

Okay, I’m under control again.

Although there are three different elements that need to be cooked for this salad (lentils, quinoa, and orzo) they can be cooked in the same pot. Start out cooking the lentils and the quinoa together for ten minutes, then add the orzo for the final 15 minutes. Drain and rinse when finished and you are good to go with adding the remainder of the ingredients for a really lovely summer salad.

Print Recipe

Lentil, Quinoa, and Orzo Salad

This salad is a meal! 

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Chilling Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Servings: 0

Author: Terri @ that's some good cookin'

Ingredients

Salad

• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup uncooked French green lentils, rinsed rinsed
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup orzo pasta
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 small European cucumbers, unpeeled and diced
• 1 small red, yellow, or orange, small diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, loose packed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, not olive oil--the flavor is too strong
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt, to taste

Instructions

For the Salad:

• In a 3 quart pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the quinoa and french green lentils. Cook for ten minutes, then add the orzo. Stir well, then cook for another 15 minutes until the orzo is al dente. Do not over-cook. The lentils will be slightly firm, which is perfect for this salad.
• Pour into a fine mesh strainer and rinse gently under cool water. Drain well.
• Put the quinoa, lentils, and orzo in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper, cilantro, and parsley and mix lightly.

For the dressing:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, fresh lemon juice, vegetable oil, cumin, and cinnamon. Pour over salad and toss well. Taste and adjust for flavoring with salt.
• Cover salad and refrigerate for at least one hour, longer is better. Can be stored for two days under refrigeration.

….which means that I can make and and eat more things like this without having to run back and forth to use water in other parts of the house! I am just feeling so happy and grateful right now.

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