April 3rd, 2012
Tangy Southwestern Quinoa Salad
I’m a recent convert to quinoa, and now that it’s available in bulk at my favourite grocery store I’m beyond hooked. I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination and have only prepared it a few ways so far, but I had so much success with this recipe that I needed to share it.
I made this last time Jesse was traveling for work, in preparation for juggling my design clients & being single puppy mama which may not sound like that much, but it usually keeps me on my toes from dusk till dawn. When my husband’s away the only thing that keeps me from eating pizza every night is having healthy, seriously yummy food around that’s either already prepared or easy to get finished.
This salad makes a very large serving and would be perfect for taking to a potluck, or you can make it ahead and enjoy it all week since it keeps so well in the fridge.
If you have picky eaters who fridge dive in your house I tested this out on two in my life by making guinea pigs out of Leigh-Ann and my husband Jesse. They were both new to quinoa and aren’t fans of some textures, but Leigh-Ann loved it & requested the recipe. Unfortunately, Jesse found it to be a terrifying, verging on emotionally damaging experience because bell peppers aren’t his thing and no amount of tangy southwestern goodness could get him around that.
On the other hand? It meant I got it all to myself! :)
Tangy Southwestern Quinoa Salad
adapted from Epicurious
Grab…
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
1 1/2 cups (1 can) cooked corn kernels
1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
3 pickled jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves or be careful not to touch your face after handling!)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
For dressing
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup olive oil
Okay!
In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve. In a saucepan of salted boiling water, cook quinoa 10 minutes using two parts water to one part quinoa. Check water level in kettle occasionally, adding water if necessary.
While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer quinoa to a very large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell peppers, jalapeños, and cilantro and toss well.
Make dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.
Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made a day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving, or serve chilled depending on your preference.
Delish! Do you mind if I pin this, lovely lady?
I never mind that, but you’re a sweetheart for asking :)
Gah! This looks so good! Now that I’m working from home I REALLY struggle to motivate myself to cook healthfully during the day. But this looks like something I could handle….thanks for sharing the recipe! ;)
This sounds delicious! Is this what you were making that one time we were on the phone? Awesome!
This is one and the same :)
I must make this ASAP. I’m pretty fond of any recipe with the word Quinoa in it. Mmm…
Um Yummy!!!! This sounds delicious (minus the jalapeño chilies, I don’t do spicy) I am going to have to try this for sure.
Hubby and I recently started cooking with quinoa and have only really tried one recipe, quinoa stuffed peppers and we love it so we will totally try this. Thanks for sharing!
We recently embraced quinoa. Love it!
That looks delicious! I might just have to try it this weekend!
It almost reminds me of this recipe – one of my favorites!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-and-Tomato-Quinoa-238939
I have seen a LOT of quinoa floating around my blog feed lately! I think I need to jump on the band wagon!
I love quinoa! It’s so healthy for you, and it’s very versatile. You can have it for breakfast with cinnamon and fruits, you can have hot or cold salads, and I even had a southwestern quinoa soup last week that was really tasty. Yesterday I made a batch of beet, kidney bean salad which we both love. And I’ve been eating lots of tabouli lately too.
Here are some of my fav salad recipes I’ve tried! :)
http://www.mealtime.org/recipe_details.aspx?id=1032
http://foodsforlonglife.blogspot.ca/2010/11/raw-vegan-brussels-sprouts-salad-with.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/07/international-quinoa-salad.html
Delish! This is similar to one of my favorite recipes from the Veganomicon cookbook, except that recipe swaps out the corn for mango. It’s a delicious variation with a nice bit of sweetness!
Woah, mango?? That would be really interesting with quinoa. This one has such a distinct lime & cilantro flavour that I think it would be questionable with mango, but I’ll have to look for some that involve fruit. Thanks, Caiti!
Try papaya if mango wont go. I recently tried quinoa, a revelation :)
Here’s the recipe from Veganomicon, if you’re curious.
http://www.food.com/recipe/quinoa-salad-with-black-beans-and-mango-319562
The cilantro and mango go pretty well together (although I don’t put in a cup of cilantro like the recipe; that seems excessive), and I always add a squeeze of lime over the top. It’s not a scary combo, I promise :)
Yum! That looks delicious! I have made a similar salad for my family which includes zucchini. I converted my family to quinoa thanks to that salad recipe! They were skeptical, but they loved it! Those kind of salads just scream summer to me! :)