Beside a power punch of feel-good fuel, this belly filling side or main course has a number of other benefits.  Most similar salads call for black beans.  The smaller size of the lentils blends nicely into a pilaf.   All ingredients are readily available and cheap in the summer, and it can be served warm or cold, perfect for a picnic or party where it will be sitting around all day.   

1 cup of mixed rice blend

1 pat of butter

1/2 large onion, minced

2 stalks of celery, minced

1 cup of lentils

2 ears of corn

2T Olive oil

Zest and juice of 2 limes

4 large garlic cloves, minced

½ t cumin

3 tomatoes, chopped

½ red onion, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 T oregano

 1 C cilantro

Make the rice. 

Sautee onions, celery and two garlic cloves in butter in a rice cooker or medium-sized pot with a lid.  Add the rice and blend.  Add water, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down to low and cover.  When the rice has 25 minutes left, add the lentils and stir. (This recipe uses a rice blend that takes approx. 40 minutes to cook. If yours takes less time, you can add the lentils in with the rice at the beginning.)

While the rice cooks you will have plenty of time to do the following:

Grill the corn or toast the corn kernels in a cast iron pan with a little butter.

Make the dressing. 

Combine olive oil, zest of 2 limes and juice of 1, 1 garlic clove and the cumin in a jar.  Season and shake well.  

Make the salsa.

Combine tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, remaining garlic and lime juice in a bowl, season and stir.  Chop cilantro and oregano together and add half the mixture to the salsa.

When rice and lentils are done, add corn, dressing and remaining herbs and mix well.  Serve each mound of rice topped with the salsa. For parties, multiply the recipe and serve rice in a wide shallow bowl, topped with the salsa in the middle.

Serves 2-4 but can be scaled

Cooking time approx. 1 hour