Greek Lentil Salad Vinaigrette (gluten free)

Here is a simple take on Greek salad.  It comes together quickly and can be the hit at your next family or office pot-luck.  The lentils pack a lot of vegetable protein, complex carbohydrate, fibre, potassium, B vitamins and iron.  Substitute any cooked bean of your choice such as chickpeas or a can of mixed beans for the lentils.  I have even made it with cooked wild rice and everyone loved it.  


The original recipe is from Pulse Canada.  Visit their website for lots of good ideas and recipes for cooking and baking with legumes or pulses (=beans, peas and lentils).  Legumes have lots of health benefits.  They point out that  "studies have shown that consuming pulses can benefit people with diabetes. As a good source of complex carbohydrates, pulses have a low glycemic index which means they keep blood sugars from rising too quickly after eating."  They are gluten free too and a great source of iron for people that run low on this vital nutrient.  If you want to learn more about legume nutrition and how-to-cook them visit my earlier post Lesson in Legumes.


Nutrition Tip: Running canned beans/lentils under cold water to rinse and then leaving to drain for a few minutes can reduce the sodium content of canned legumes by as much as 40%. That's pretty good!


INGREDIENTS:

Imperial	Metric Measure	Ingredients
2 cup	500 ml	Lentils, brown, cooked, drained
½ cup	125 ml	Onion, diced
2 cup	500 ml	Tomatoes, fresh, diced
1each	1	Green or red pepper, diced
½	½	Cucumber,  English cut in quarters lengthwise and then sliced (21 cm)
¼ cup	60 ml	Parsley, fresh, minced
2 Tbsp	30 ml	Olive oil, extra virgin
3 Tbsp	45 ml	Lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 cup	250 ml	Feta, crumbled (about 175 grams)
1 Tbsp	15 ml	Oregano, leaf, dry
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Black pepper, freshly ground

METHOD:

1.  Rinse the canned lentils under cold running water and leave to drain. Alternately, use 2 cups (500 ml) of cooked-from-scratch lentils.  Add to a large bowl.  

2.  Toss in the diced onion, tomatoes, green/red pepper, sliced cucumber and minced fresh parsley.

Here my tomatoes look a little sad.  It is December 2nd and they are the last two I have left from my summer garden.

3.  Pour olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice over salad.  Top with crumbled feta and sprinkle with dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper.  I used a crumbled goat's milk feta and both my son and I really liked it.

Toss and adjust seasonings to taste.  You can also use dried thyme or mixed Italian seasoning instead of the oregano.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1/12th recipe about 1/2 cup - 125 ml - 110 g): 110 calories, 6 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 170 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 3 g sugar and 6 g protein.  %Daily Values are 8% vitamin A, 45% vitamin C, 10% calcium and 10% iron.


Tastefully yours,
Nancy Guppy, RD


Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com where you can find out what's cooking on my class calendar.  If you are interested in nutrition or diet counselling pop over to www.nancyguppy.com.  A lot of health plans cover the cost of consulting an RD.