Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list. It’s a very easy salad to prepare and will be one of the best things you’ve ever eaten.
I absolutely adore quinoa and if you also like it, not only is this recipe great, these two other quinoa salad recipes below, also on this blog, are terrific.
I sometimes make these quinoa salads in double quantities and have them in the fridge for a week, adding chicken or salmon to them if we fancy, or just having a small bowl of it with some home made soup. The beauty of this salad is that you can change up the amounts of the vegetables and can replace or add with other things you like. Basically, play with it! I have also given you a few ingredients that are optional.
It’s very healthy, very filling without piling on the calories and soaks up the flavors.
Easily serves 4 and can be augmented.
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1x 15oz can of garbanzo or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
2 Roma tomatoes,chopped or 4 oz sliced sun-dried tomatoes
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthways
2 tbsp capers, drained
1 medium English cucumber, seeded and chopped
5 scallions, chopped or 1 medium red onion, chopped
4 oz roasted red bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped,
1/4 fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 green chili, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts, optional
1/2 cup raisins, optional
Dressing ingredients (you may not need it all)
4 tbsp good olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 anchovy fillets, optional
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp red chili flakes, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with the stock and bring to the boil. When boiling, turn down low to a simmer and put a lid on. Let it simmer on low for about 12 – 15 minutes until it becomes fluffy and all the liquid is absorbed. You will begin to see the “germ” of the grain appear on each piece of quinoa.
Remove from the heat,fluff with a fork and allow to cool with the lid off. (I sometimes tip it out onto a baking tray and spread it out to dry and cool a bit, it works faster this way)
In a very large bowl, combine the salad ingredients. Add the cooled quinoa to the salad.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender and add about 3/4 of the dressing to the salad. Mix together really well, season with salt and pepper and add more of anything you like to get the exact flavor you want. Chill the salad in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving. This gives the ingredients time to “hang out”
This is a very forgiving salad and I sometimes add toasted pine nuts, or raisins/currants to it for a change.
Enjoy!