Passport & Plate - Wild Curried Lentil, Rice and Orzo Salad
Canada | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 3 photos
Ingredients
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (125 ml) wild rice
2/3 cup (150 ml) green lentils or brown lentils
1/2 cup (125 ml) orzo pasta
1/2 cup (125 ml) fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup (60 ml) finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup (75 ml) slivered almonds, toasted
Dressing:
1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon or French mustard
1/2 tsp (2 ml) Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp (2 ml) salt
1/2 tsp (2 ml) ground coriander *
1/4 tsp (1 ml) turmeric *
1/4 tsp (1 ml) paprika *
1/4 tsp (1 ml) nutmeg *
1 pinch cinnamon *
1 pinch cloves *
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/3 cup ( 60 ml) Olive oil
* Or simply use a 1 tbsp. of your favorite curry powder
How to prepare this recipePreparation
In large pot of boiling salted water, cover and cook wild rice for 10 minutes. ??Add lentils; boil for 20 minutes. Add orzo; cook just until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and transfer to large bowl. Add cranberries and onion.??
Dressing: In small bowl, whisk together vinegar, cumin, mustard, maple syrup, salt, coriander, turmeric, paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and cayenne; whisk in oil. Pour over rice mixture and toss gently. Let cool, cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.
Serving: sprinkle salad with toasted almonds and serve as a side dish to accompany grilled meat, fish or simply on its own as a light meal, on a bed of fresh greens.
The story behind this recipeEssential Kitchen Skills 101
When push comes to shove, it’s always worth the squeeze to make that lemonade! Already halfway through cooking lentils and rice, I realized that I was missing key ingredients to my sister’s salad recipe - one she’d made for me once while I was visiting her - which I was nostalgically looking forward to recreating. Next, opening a jar of Dijon mustard - left behind by a past roommate - I was suddenly attacked by a puff of mustiness! Grossed out, I let the jar slip out of my hands and crash on the floor in a blob of mold and broken glass. With no time left to make a last minute run to the store and the pressure of feeding my boyfriend and myself before heading to work, I had to find a creative solution to this culinary crisis. Vinegary dressings not being my forte to start, I now felt unsure about this lunch’s outcome but I dug around the kitchen and eventually came up with some ideas! I swapped white wine vinegar for apple cider vinegar and cranberries instead of currants, a curry powder to spices things up and, well, regular mustard would have to do! Getting into the groove now, I substituted a couple more things just for fun: maple syrup instead of sugar and a nice high-grade olive oil instead of canola. A finger dipped and licked before pouring the improvised mixture over the whole thing left my taste buds positively surprised with the results!
Ignoring the directions to refrigerate at least 4 hours, I served up the fragrant, piping hot mixture over a bed of fresh spinach and topped it up with roasted almonds. As we sat down to savor my new creation, I had to feel proud of myself for following my instinct at the point where everything threatened to fall apart, remembering that is only by trying that we ever get skilled at anything, cooking being no exception. While I’ve made this recipe again the “right way” since, and both versions also taste great cold, I can’t wait to make this variation for my sister the next time she visits!
