Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro

Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro is a salad recipe is I used to make on a houseboat, so you know it must be easy! Check out Salad Recipes for more salad ideas.

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This salad with black beans and lentils is something I used to include on nearly every menu back in the days when I organized catered houseboat trips at Utah’s Lake Powell. I used brown lentils in those days, but now that food bloggers have tipped me off about the small green French lentils which hold their shape a little better in a dish like this, I prefer using the green French lentils in the salad. At Lake Powell I would have served this as a side dish with something like grilled chicken or fish, or it could be a good vegetarian main dish.

In the Lake Powell days I had barely discovered cilantro, which is something my friends now probably find hard to imagine. Nearly twenty years ago I wrote a little self-published cookbook of Lake Powell favorite recipes. The recipe for this salad listed parsley as an ingredient, and years later I had crossed out the word “parsley” in my one remaining copy and put “cilantro.” Of course my love of cilantro is now well documented, but I’ve also learned there’s a good reason some people don’t like it. A poster on Chowhound suggests celery leaves can substitute for cilantro if you have a cilantro-hater in your midst, which sounds interesting. This week’s host for Weekend Herb Blogging is Katie of Thyme for Cooking, who isn’t a big cilantro fan, although she’s giving it a try lately. (Katie, you can use celery leaves if you make this salad, and I promise I won’t take it personally.)

More Cilantro-Loving Recipes from Kalyn’s Kitchen:

Grilled Halibut with Garlic Cilantro Sauce

Black Bean, Rice, and Cilantro Salad

Black Bean and Beef Chili with Cilantro, Lime, and Avocado Salsa

Chipotle and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Double Cilantro

Black Bean and Rice Soup with Cilantro and Lime

Cilantro Love from Other Blogs:

Skirt Steak with Cilantro Garlic Sauce from Serious Eats

Steamed Chicken and Rice with Cilantro Pesto from Is It EDible

Peppery Shrimp with Cilantro Coconut Sauce from Talk of Tomatoes

Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro is an easy salad recipe that makes a great tasting lunch! Ingredients: Ingredients 1 cup (about 1/2 pound) lentils

1 can black beans

1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped green onion (scallions) green part only

1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro Dressing Ingredients 2 T olive oil

2 T vegetable stock (or use chicken stock if you don’t care if it’s vegan)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 T fresh lime juice (can use apple cider vinegar)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. finely minced garlic (I used garlic puree from a jar)

1/2 tsp. dried Oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)

1 tsp. cumin seed (can use ground cumin)

1/2 tsp. Ancho chile powder (or use any mild chile powder)

1/2 tsp. Spike seasoning (or more)

fresh ground pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste (I used green Tabasco sauce) Directions: Put lentils into a small sauce pan with plenty of water to cover, bring to a slow simmer and cook until lentils are tender, about 40-60 minutes for green lentils or 30-40 minutes for brown ones. Drain lentils and let cool slightly. While lentils cook, put beans in a colander and rinse with cold water until no more foam appears. Let drain well, then blot dry with paper towels. Put olive oil, chicken stock, Dijon mustard, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a small bowl. In mortar and pestle, grind together oregano, cumin seed, chile powder, Spike seasoning, and pepper. Whisk into liquid in bowl, then add hot sauce to taste and whisk again. When lentils are slightly cooled, combine with half of dressing and let marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Wash, spin dry, and finely chop cilantro and set aside. Chop red bell pepper, red onion, and green part of green onions finely and add to lentils. Add drained beans to lentil and vegetable mixture, and stir in rest of dressing, then gently mix in chopped cilantro. This will taste best if refrigerated for an hour or so before serving, but it can be served sooner if you’re short on time. Notes: I used green French lentils but you can use ordinary brown lentils. Recipe created by Kalyn. Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen All images and text ©

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:

Black Bean and Lentil Salad with Red Bell Pepper, Cumin, and Cilantro is a great dish for low-glycemic diet plans, and for any phase of the South Beach Diet. Black Beans are too high in carbs for a low-carb diet.

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Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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