California Fiesta Quinoa Salad
(Serves 6)
Absolutely one of the most loved salads by my clients, students, family, and friends!
l cup quinoa, uncooked
¼ tsp sea salt
¾ cup cubed tomato, (1 medium tomato)
¼ cup celery, chopped as below instructions (1 stalk)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
½ cup chopped scallions (4 scallions)
½ cup fresh cleaned and chopped cilantro
½ cup fresh or frozen corn, blanched
½ cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup black olives, pitted and diced (Kalamata are the best!)
Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar or ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
- Boil 2 cups water and add salt. Thoroughly rinse quinoa in strainer. Place in boiling water, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 20 minutes or until grain is fluffed and water is absorbed. Remove from pot into a large bowl; allow to cool before adding vegetables.
- To cut tomatoes into cubes, slice tomatoes into ½-inch slabs and remove most of the seeds. Then cut tomatoes into sticks and crosswise into ½-inch cubes. This will give you evenly sized tomato pieces that won’t get mushy if the salad isn’t eaten right away.
- Cut celery by slicing down the rib in the center of the stalk. If the stalk is large you might want to cut it in thirds. Then cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces.
- Slice cucumber lengthwise into 4 strips and then remove center seeds. Chop these strips into ½-inch pieces. Remove root ends of scallions and cross chop into ¼-inch pieces. Toss cooled quinoa with all remaining vegetables, beans, and olives.
- Mix vinegar, oil, hot pepper flakes, and salt together in a bowl. Toss lightly with salad. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. This will last 5 days in the refrigerator.
Serving Suggestions: My favorite way of enjoying this as a leftover is in scrambled eggs! Just before the eggs set hard, I add ¼ cup or so of this salad and give it a stir. Very yummy breakfast!
