Quinoa – the ideal summer salad

Bring the goodness of whole grains to your family –rich in B vitamins, fiber, and minerals – quinoa was known to the ancient Incas as the Mother Grain.

Quinoa is considered a complete protein. It has the highest protein content of any other grain and contains all eight essential amino acids, along with fiber, iron, magnesium, calcium and vitamins A and E.

Quinoa’s flavor is slightly nutty with a pleasing crunchy texture. In addition to tasting great, it’s also very simple to cook and blends well with numerous other ingredients. It’s so versatile it can be substituted for rice, pasta, couscous, bulgur or millet in just about any recipe. And it’s gluten free – excellent news for anyone with a gluten allergy or sensitivity.

Cooking quinoa is the perfect for summer suppers – it cooks very quickly and gives everyone the boast of energy after a busy summer day.

Yesterday, I tried a recipe from the Cooking Light July 2009 – with a couple of modifications to match to what I had on hand and our family preferences. It is delicious!

Note: The CL suggested ingredient is in () next to the item I used.

Quinoa Salad with Moroccan Pesto and Pistachios Recipe

Serves 6         35 min | 20 min prep

• 1 yellow tomato, diced (1 red pepper, oven-roasted, peeled, seeded, diced)
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon harissa (¼ teaspoon red pepper)
• 2 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (12 oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped)
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

1.Bring broth, water, orange juice and quinoa to a boil in a large saucepan.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. To make pesto, place cilantro and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine tomato, quinoa mixture, cilantro mixture, and olives in a large bowl. Sprinkle with nuts and serve.

This is wonderful with grilled chicken and a green salad.  Wish I had a photo to share with you — but we inhaled the dish!

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Enjoyed this post? See these:

1. Quinoa Tabouli Salad Recipe
2. Seven-Vegetable Couscous and Moroccan Chicken
3. Date Nut Bar Recipe

Print This Post

Tags: quinoa recipe, quinoa salad recipe

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 7:30 am and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.