Lentil and Brown Rice Salad

Serves 8

Recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I love my rice cooker and use it almost every day.  I keep cooked brown rice and French lentils in the fridge all the time so that we can make quick healthy salads or wraps anytime.  If you do the same, this meatless salad will be a cinch to make.  Perfect for a Meatless Monday lunch!

Vinaigrette:

¾ cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar.  Cover the jar with a lid and shake until the vinaigrette is well blended. Set aside.

Salad

1 cup dried French lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme

In a small saucepan, cover lentils with water by 1 inch. Add the thyme.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well.  Place in a large salad bowl and add the following ingredients:

2 cups cooked brown jasmine rice, room temperature *

3 scallions, chopped or ¼ cup minced fresh chives

½ cup finely chopped celery

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

3 Tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

3 Tablespoons chopped golden raisins

3 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

5 oz. goat cheese, crumbled (to be tossed in just before serving)

Toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat lightly.  (You will have some vinaigrette left to use for something else.) Let the salad stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving or cover tightly and chill overnight in the fridge.  Serve the salad at room temperature, adding the goat cheese right before serving.

*To make the brown jasmine rice in the rice cooker:

1 cup brown jasmine rice (rinse well and drain)

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Spray the rice cooker bowl with oil or lightly coat the bowl with oil.  Add the above ingredients.  Set the cooker to the brown rice setting, press start and there you are!

Mujaddara with Spiced Yogurt

Recipe from http://www.food52.com/cooks/382_rivka

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 4

This dish was super easy.  Reviewers said that it tastes best after time passes, and we agree.  This is very tasty, very satisfying and very healthy too.  Serve this for your next Meatless Monday dinner.  You might wish to double the yogurt sauce because it really makes the rice/bean/onion mixture pop! All the ingredients are available at Lost River Market & Deli.

For the Mujaddara:

3/4 cups Puy lentils (aka French lentils, the tiny dark brown ones)

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1 cup jasmine rice (I used brown jasmine rice.)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups onions (2-3 medium onions), halved and thinly sliced

For the yogurt sauce: (I doubled the yogurt sauce ingredients.)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used non-fat plain Greek yogurt.)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin (freshly ground, if possible)

1/2 teaspoon coriander (freshly ground)

1/2 teaspoon spicy paprika or aleppo pepper (I used hot paprika.)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Juice and zest of half a lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook rice according to package.  (I used the rice cooker.)  For cooking the rice in an oven see note below.

Put lentils, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 4 cups water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer lentils until soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Drain lentils and set aside.

While rice cooks, set a wide, non-stick skillet over medium-low heat and add butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter has mostly melted, add onions and toss to incorporate with butter and oil.

After 5 minutes, onions will have softened slightly and started to release their liquid. Raise heat to medium and cook 10 to 12 minutes more, until onions are very soft and browned. Add water by the tablespoon if pan gets too dry or if onions start to stick. When onions are well browned, add last tablespoon of olive oil and raise heat to high. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until bottom layer of onions has charred and crisped; try not to stir too much, or onions won't crisp up.

Combine rice, lentils, and the onions in large serving bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes, to marry the flavors together. Meanwhile, make the yogurt: mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

If mujaddara has cooled significantly, reheat in a low oven or even in the microwave for a couple minutes. To serve, plate a big scoop of mujaddara and top with a dollop of yogurt. 

Note:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Add rice, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 1/2 cups water to the pot, set over medium heat, and bring to a boil. When water begins to boil, cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook for 17 minutes until perfectly cooked. Remove from oven, uncover, and fluff with a fork. Set aside.