Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Greek Quinoa Salad

I made one of my standard, fall back recipes last night for dinner, the Greek Quinoa Salad, this version had black beans and no olives, cause I couldn't find any in the cupboard. O wolfed his bowl down and went back for seconds, as usual.

1 cup quinoa, uncooked
rinse in cool water in a strainer for at least a minute, to remove the bitter saponin layer, allow to drip dry a bit. Put it in a pot with a tight lid with 2 cups water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the endosperm has uncoiled in a spiral and all the water has been absorbed. Fluff and let cool.

When cool, add to quinoa:
1/4 small red onion, chopped
1/2 english or 1 regular cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 tin black olives, sliced
1/2 cup to 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 tin chick peas, rinsed well

Dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
3 times as much extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1-4 crushed garlic cloves
whisk well to blend before adding to salad.

This makes a large salad that would serve at least 6-8 people as a side dish, or 3-4 people as a main dish. I make this for O and I and then we have at least one leftover lunch, or a really, really filling bedtime snack. This makes a really great side dish for fish, or chicken breast, but it's complete enough to eat as a meal by itself.

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