Food Friday: Quinoa Salad a la Mexicana

Oh quinoa, what a tricky little grain you are. So delicious when prepared properly, so horrible when not. Perfect for breakfast [recipe to come soon] but also amazing as dinner. So quick to make me look like a fool in a restaurant [I'll have the quinn-no-ah?] and then a snob in the grocery store [where can I find your keen-wa?]. With all your little quirks it's no wonder I will never rid myself of you.

As you can see quinoa and I got wayy back - like a whole 3 years back. It's been a great run but recently my eye started to wander. Couscous, millet and multi-grain rice began to tempt me with their novelty and versatility. I started to paint my poor friend quinoa as a grain who only liked to play with olives, feta & tomato. Lucky for quinoa and I, I had a fit of inspiration that has not only rekindled my love but has allowed me to see quinoa in a whole new light.

Grain salads are delicious, simple recipes that can be eaten at lunch or dinner and usually offer enough food to last an entire week of lunches!

INGREDIENTS:

1cup Quinoa 1 Avocado 1 Red Pepper 1 Green Pepper   1cup Corn kernels  1 Grape Tomatoes

Dressing: 1 Tbsp Cilantro 2 Tbsp Lime 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 tsp Chili Pepper Flakes

METHOD:

Now pay attention because this is so easy you may blink and miss something. First I cooked the quinoa - Add 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups boiling water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. While the quinoa was cooking I began chopping the veggies. Once it was ready I fluffed the cooked quinoa with a fork and then placed it in the freezer to help with the cooling process.

Toss together the dressing while the quinoa is cooling [I tend to like a very light dressing so if you like more double or triple the above dressing recipe]. Take the dressing and toss with the cooled quinoa. Add the veggies, toss and eat! 

Notes:

By the time I finished the salad, I had doubled all the veggies and the dressing. The doubled recipe is above, however the photos are of my initial light-on-veggies attempt.

I think black beans may also be a great addition to this salad.

I used frozen corn that I thawed over a couple hours before adding.