I just love the name of this delicious bowl of goodness. This Earth Salad with Brown Rice, Lentils and a Creamy Tzatziki Dressing is EVERYTHING. So earthy and full of flavour it’s ridiculous! And it’s gluten-free and can be made vegan too!
I went through a season of avoiding all grains and legumes to heal my gut. It was necessary at the time and was so worth it. I can now handle most gluten-free grains and most legumes. Lentils and chickpeas are my favourite. If you don’t feel good after eating grains then it might be a good idea to look into doing an elimination type diet or go for medical testing to establish whether or not you have any food intolerances or allergies.
It is so important to prepare grains and legumes correctly so as to better aid digestion and maximise nutrient absorption. I always soak my grains and legumes over night before cooking them on the stove top or I use a pressure cooker (no need to soak in this case) if I’m pressed for time.
For more info on grains and why they are not always great, read here.
With that said, we’re good to go forward with the delightful recipe at hand! I decided to use kale as the base for my greens in this recipe but I’ve also made this with spinach and swiss chard – both of which were just as great! I also used black lentils but brown or green lentils would go well with this too. Heck, if you’re feeling super adventurous why not try it with chickpeas?!
The tzatziki dressing is really the showstopper though. It lifts the salad and makes it even more fresh and creamy. I used plain yogurt but if you are dairy-free then coconut yogurt would work too. No coconut yogurt in the house? Just add 1tsp apple cider vinegar to 1/2 cup coconut cream. That’ll do the trick for this tzatziki recipe too!
What you’ll need for this Earth Salad:
- Kale
- Basil
- Mint
- Tomatoes
- Yellow Bell Pepper
- Carrot
- Brown Rice
- Lentils
- Yogurt
- Cucumber
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar
Now go ahead and make it!
- 4 cups kale (massaged with olive oil)
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 1/2 handful fresh mint
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot chopped into small chunks
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups cooked black lentils
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt/coconut yogurt
- 1 cup chopped cucumbers
- 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar/juice from half a lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- Cook the brown rice and lentils and let cool.
- Massage the kale in a bit of olive oil. Add all other ingredients and toss.
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Drizzle over the salad.
- Enjoy!
