Healthy Weight-Loss and Diet Recipes - TopRecipesDiet.Blogspot.com: Legumes

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Beluga Lentil Zottarella Salad with Fresh Turmeric Vinaigrette

Tiny, black and round with a rich earthy flavour and chewy texture, beluga lentils are named for the caviar they resemble. They hold their shape and firm texture when cooked, making them a good choice for salads. You can easily replace them with French green lentils. Fresh turmeric is the star in this anti-inflammatory dressing that adds incredible flavour and texture to this comforting salad.

Fresh Turmeric Vinaigrette	Salad
100 ml Olive oil 2-inch Fresh turmeric, peeled and grated 1 tbsp Maple syrup Juice of 1 lemon 3 tbsp White balsamic vinegar 2 Garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp Black pepper, ground 1/2 tsp Sea salt	200 g Beluga black lentils, rinsed 150 g Zottarella minis 120 g Baby spinach 1-2 Peaches, stoned and sliced Basil and parsley

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. Chill until ready for use.
Fill a medium pot with 700 ml water and bring it to a boil. Add in rinsed black lentils and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until tender but still firm. Drain immediately through a fine strainer and rinse briefly with cool water. Drain again, set aside and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, toss the cooled lentils with half of the dressing. Add the zottarella minis, peaches, parsley and basil and toss briefly. Divide the spinach leaves on two serving plates and spoon the lentil salad over. Serve with the additional dressing.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Black Quinoa, Red Lentil and Green Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

Enjoy a delicious quinoa spring salad with lentil and asparagus. It's bursting with flavour thanks to pine nuts, walnut oil and raspberry vinegar. Good-quality vinegar and walnut oil make all the difference in this dressing. If you don't have black quinoa, regular white one will work just great.

Salad	Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
150 g Black quinoa, rinsed 150 g Red lentils, rinsed 400 g Green asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 4cm pieces 50 g Pine nuts, roasted Fennel fronds, roughly chopped	3 tbsp Walnut oil 2 tbsp Raspberry vinegar 1 tsp Maple syrup Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine 300 ml water and rinsed quinoa in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl. Set aside to cool.
In another saucepan, fill in 450 ml water and bring to the boil. Add lentils, asparagus and return to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until lentils are slightly softened and asparagus tender. Be careful not to cook too long, as you the lentils to be al dente and asparagus bright green. Drain and rinse in cold water.
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing, stirring with a whisk until well-blended.
Place cooked quinoa, lentils, asparagus, fennel fronds and half of the roasted pine nuts in a bowl. Add in vinaigrette and toss until well combined. Transfer to a large serving plate and sprinkle the rest of pine nuts over.