Beluga Lentils with Quinoa

When my Auntie Sandi was here visiting for the wedding she brought me a package of the cutest little lentils I have ever seen.  Perfectly shaped and jet black these legumes are called Beluga because they resemble little gems of caviar.  I have been waiting for the perfect recipe to use the 2 cups of lentils (I want to use them sparingly!who knows when I will come across these lovely lentils again?)

I have been totally drooling over the grain and pulses recipes in the Ottolenghi cookbook and have been looking for similar recipes on the internet.  I came across this recipe for quinoa and lentil salad the other day and thought that I would try something similar but warm for our dinner tonight. 

The deep black colour, which totally survived the boiling process, works really well with the creaminess of the pale quinoa.  Essentially you could put anything you wanted in this "warm" salad, if I had had cherry tomatoes I would have thrown them in.  The ratio is about 2 parts lentil to 1 part quinoa...but again...do what feels right to you.  I wanted this to be more lentil than quinoa.  With that I added 1/2 a red onion thinly sliced in half moons, a handful of chopped parsley and about 1/2  block of feta cheese cubed.  I tossed it all with come lemon juice, a bit of chili oil and fresh balck pepper...

et voila

This warm salad was really tasty paired with french style pan-fried potatoes (par boiled and cut into cubes then pan-fried in a little bit of butter with paprika), and a bit of warmed pita.  I also had half an avocado... David did not...his loss because it was simply...divine!