THE Lentil Salad

My lentil loving brother and I.

I have yet to meet someone who does not love this salad. The addition of creamy orzo and nutty brown rice will make even the most stout lentil avoider yield. Once we were in an Indian restaurant and the waitress asked my dad if he knew what curry was. He responded, It's a spice. No, she said it is a combination of many spices. We are very spoiled these days with vastly availabile multi-cultural culinary delights. In case you thought curry was simply a yellow powder that comes out of a glass cylinder, this dish allows you to make your own curry powder. And it's delicious.

Sprinkle a generous amount of currants, green onion and slivered toasted almonds on top and you're off to the races.

Curried Lentil, Rice and Orzo Salad

(Adapted from Canadian Living.ca)

1/2C brown rice

2/3C brown or green lentils

1/2C orzo

1/2C currants

1/4C chopped green onion

1/3C almonds, slivered and toasted

Dressing:

1/4C cider vinegar

1t groud cumin

1t grainy dijon mustard

1/2t sugar or honey

1/2t salt

1/2t ground coriander

1/4t turmeric, paprika, nutmeg

1pinch each cinnamon, cloves and cayenne

1/3C Olive oil

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cover and cook rice for 15mins. Add lentils; boil 20 mins. Add orzo; cook 5-10 more mins. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Add currents and onion.

In a mason jar or small bowl, shake/whisk together all dressing ingredients.

Pour over rice.

Add almonds just before serving.

Love it.