Quinoa, lentil & red pepper salad recipe

Hello friends, sorry for being quiet the last week or so, but I have moved "she runs around the table while hysterically laughing". This past week has been the most stressful week ever and I can tell you I would rather give birth than moving again, yes literally. On the other hand, the gorgeous purple 100 pound coat from Debenhams in my wardrobe, is no longer the most expensive item I have, because I am a house owner now...co-owner obviously :-). You know, for a foreigner like me, buying a new house means a proper home and this home is truly beautiful and I will look after it and love it like a baby! Enough said!

This week's recipe is simple quinoa, lentil & red pepper salad. For my cheese loving family I added some feta, but you can add whatever cheese your heart desires including halloumi, goat or even manchego cheese.Maybe you are thinking quinoa and lentils together? Let me tell you it works perfectly and the red pepper ads a little bit of char grilled flavour and extra texture and colour. If you are new to quinoa all you need to know is that it is one of the best complex carbs on the market and can be bought in any good supermarket or health shop. As for the lentils, use the green ones instead of red ones because they keep their shape better and don't go mushy, which makes them ideal for warm salads like this.

Continue to Content

Recipe

Cous-cous, quinoa and red pepper salad

Quinoa, lentil & red pepper salad recipe from Hedi Hearts. Super simple, delicious and nutritious quinoa, lentil & red pepper salad.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup green lentils
• 2 red peppers
• kallo stock
• salt and pepper
• Optional: feta cheese
• Dressing:
• 3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 5 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Start by cooking the quinoa as per the instructions on the packet.One thing I would suggest is to use Kallo stock instead of salt. It will add extra flavour. Once cooked leave to rest a bit.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, rinse the green lentils under cold water, then place in a pan, cover with water, add salt and pepper and cook for around 30 mins.
3. Next roast the red peppers under a hot grill for about 15 minutes turning every now and then to ensure the skin is blackened and charred. Once cooled down, remove the skin and the core, scrape out the seeds and cut into squares. I personally love to leave the skin on, but my kids don't, so I take it off for them.
4. Once you have the quinoa, green lentils and peppers prepared, place them all in a big bowl, combine with feta cheese and mix well.
5. For the dressing, mix all ingredients together, taste and add more seasoning if needed
6. Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving.

Don't worry if you don't have red peppers, you can use any coloured pepper or even tomatoes go well with this dish. If you want to make it even more healthy, go for Organic Whole Wheat cous cous. Don't forget to check out my Cranberry and apricot cous cous , Mediterranean cous-cous or tofu quinoa recipes, all super easy and super delicious.

As always if you do make this lovely dish, post me a photo on my Facebook , Twitter or Instagram and of course let me know if you like it. I love reading your comments!

Much love,
Hedi