Adapted from Clean Eating
, Winter 2008Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooling time: 10 minutes or so in the fridge, 20 or so on the counter in a sieve
Serves 4
Keeps well refrigerated for several days
Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil to toast the quinoa)
1 cup water
1 cup broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 tin tuna, drained
1 cup cooked chick peas ( I used canned, drained and sprinkled with some Italian herbs & good olive oil – I like to keep a batch in the fridge for just such occasions)
3 green onions, sliced
1 heaping handful of grape or cherry tomatoes (I leave them whole, but you could cut them in half)
½ avocado, cubed
¼ cup red onion, cut in thin slivers
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (and for those of you who dislike cilantro, there’s always oregano, basil or parsley)
Dressing:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 large limes
1 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
Salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Rinse the quinoa well and drain. This step is really important. It gets rid of the bitter coating of the grain.
2. In a medium sized pot, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium high heat and add the quinoa to toast it. This step only takes 2-3 minutes but it really gives the quinoa a rich, toasted flavor. Add the water and broth (You could just use water, but I like more oomph) and stir. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. This step takes 15-20 minutes. You want the quinoa soft but not mushy, so test after 15 minutes. If the quinoa seems soft but too wet, turn up the heat and without covering cook over high for a couple of minutes, stirring. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together and taste. It should be quite tart. The quinoa absorbs a lot of the tang.
4. Put the quinoa in a serving bowl, fluffing as you pour it in. Add the rest of the ingredients and top with dressing. Toss well and serve.
Related links: Food and Drink easy cooking
recipes salad grains quinoa tuna
4 comments:
This looks lovely, Ruth! I'm one of those cilantro haters, but I'll bet it's just as good with any one of the alternates that you mentioned. I'll be trying this one soon!
Michelle
www.culinography.wordpress.com
Ruth,
Very interesting recipe! I made quinoa once and it did not come out too nice, but this recipe sounds very good to me... maybe I will give quinoa second chance :)
Margot
Michelle, I'd go basil or oregano or even mint.
C &V , the secret to good tasting quinoa is rinse it, then "toast" it before actually adding liquid. And I strongly recommend broth over water. Good luck with it.
Ruth, thank you very much for sharing. And it's true the secret for the quinoa is rinsing it well and toasting it.
While we lived in Bolivia, we tried to eat it but it was never that good. Only upscale restaurants could do it. Now we know the secret... just rinse it!
Check out our recipe, inspired by Ruth's.
Post a Comment