BEET + LENTIL SALAD W/ GARLICKY CASHEW DRESSING

after a few unpredictably wet and cooler days... october has finally started to heat up! in keeping with the warmer weather (and my default ♥ of salads) i piled up some nutty brown rice, thyme-infused green/brown lentils, refreshing cucumber slices, crisp cos lettuce leaves, julienned raw beets and a generous dolloping of punchy, creamy, garlicky dressing - yum! 

how? 

2 cups of cooked brown rice

2 cups of cooked green/brown lentils (i whacked mine in the pressure cooker with a few sprigs of fresh thyme - kindly donated from a friends front garden - for 8 mins) 

2 cups of cucumber slices (i like mine cut on the bias with a bit of the seeds removed - which i snack on whilst prepping the rest of my salad)

8-12 baby cos lettuce leaves, roughly torn or cut on a bias

1 fresh medium beetroot, thinly julienned on a V-slicer/mandolin 

for the dressing...

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of spring onions, roughly chopped

1/2 cup of cashews, soaked and drained

1/2 cup of vegetable stock

1/4 cup of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

place all your dressing ingredients into a small food processor (i used a bamix and wet mill) and blend until smooth. you can use it straight away or store in the fridge for later (the dressing in my photo was from the day before and has thickened up from being in the fridge). 

pile up the layers, or toss to combine - top with a generous dolloping of dressing and dig in! 

serves 2 for a filling main or 4 for those less hungry/entrée-size meal