spicy brown rice salad with heirloom tomatoes, lentils, and cilantro
when i cook brown rice, which is rather often-i make a little extra and refrigerate or freeze a few portions (stored flat in ziploc bags) for when i need to put a quick meal together on a busy day. the same thing goes for lentils, although the small green ones i prefer don't really take too long to cook. this salad came together very easily on a busy day recently thanks to my reliable stash of cooked frozen grains! while the rice and lentils were defrosting, i chopped up a couple of ripe heirloom tomatoes (local ones still abundantly available in southern california) and a small bunch of organic cilantro. everything was combined together in a bowl with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (cayenne pepper), and a generous dash of home made shallot-lime dressing. believe me-this (good for you) salad tastes even better than it looks, and delivers great texture along with fresh and spicy flavors. yumyumyum.
ingredients for 6 servings:
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked small green or beluga lentils
- 2 large ripe heirloom (or not) tomatoes, finely cubed
- 1/2 cup finely chopped organic cilantro
- 1-2 tsp red cayenne pepper flakes (spicy)
lime-shallot dressing:
- 2 tbs fresh lime juice (juice of 1 large lime)
- 3-4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp finely minced shallot (or substitute 2 tbs sliced green onions or chives)
