Quinoa Salad
User Reviews
5
Quinoa Salad
Description
This Quinoa Salad starts with chilled leftover cooked quinoa as a base, ensuring the grains remain separate and fluffy. Roasting the red bell pepper over an open flame or broiler gives it a smoky char, which is peeled and chopped to add depth of flavor. Fresh vegetables like diced cucumber, halved grape tomatoes, shredded carrot, and rinsed chopped red onion provide crispness and color, balanced by protein from chickpeas.
The dressing combines olive oil, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, chopped fresh parsley and cilantro, minced garlic, and salt, offering a bright, tangy, and herb-forward complement to the robust salad ingredients. Tossing the salad allows the dressing to evenly coat each component, creating a harmonious mix of flavors and textures.
Quinoa Salad is best served within a few hours of preparation to maintain freshness and crispness, making it a suitable option for light lunches, potlucks, or side dishes. Chilling the dressing while prepping ingredients allows flavors to meld and speeds assembly.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups quinoa chilled, leftover, cooked
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 2 cups cucumber English, diced
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomato halved
- 1 medium carrot shredded (1/2 cup
- 1/2 cup red onion rinsed under cold water in a sieve and drained, chopped
- 1 (14.5 oz) can chickpea drained and rinsed
Dressing
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup parsley chop somewhat fine, chopped, fresh
- 1/4 cup cilantro chop somewhat fine, chopped, fresh
- 2 garlic minced (2 tsp, cloves
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast red pepper directly over the flame of a gas stove or under broiler, turning occasionally using metal tongs, until charred all over. Transfer to a container and cover and let rest 10 minutes, then peel**, core and seed and chop pepper.
- Meanwhile prepare dressing. In a mixing bowl stir together olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, parsley, cilantro, garlic and salt. Chill while you prep the remaining salad ingredients or up to 1 day.
- In large bowl toss together quinoa, pepper, cucumber, tomato, carrot, onion and chick peas with the dressing. Serve within about 4 hours for best results. Keep salad chilled.
Notes
- Start with 1 1/4 cups dry quinoa to yield about 3 1/2 cups cooked; rinse well before cooking.
- Char the red bell pepper thoroughly and peel most of the blackened skin to add smoky flavor without bitterness.
- Toss salad and serve within roughly 4 hours for optimal texture and freshness.
- Keep the salad chilled until serving to preserve vegetable crispness and flavor.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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