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Do you ever get on a culinary "kick"? You know, you find something you're quite fond of and it finds it's way onto your table again and again? This happens to me fairly regularly but being quite capricious, the next thing I know, I'm onto something else.
This time however, I think it's going to stick and that's a really good thing because my current rage is extremely healthy, inexpensive, amazingly adaptable and very delicious !!
It's Quinoa, and I am having so much fun with it. I bought a big (as in Humungous!) bag of quinoa at Costco a few weeks ago. I thought with just the two of us here at The Café, we'd be eating quinoa till the cows come home! But guess what? I'm working my way down that bag quite quickly and I have a feeling I'll be buying another in the not too distant future.
I love to cook a big pot of this delicious ancient grain at the beginning of the week and then use it in different ways all week long. It's great in salads, as a replacement for rice or potatoes and is wonderful in muffins, breads and pancakes.
I've been experimenting with the best way to cook quinoa. If it's not cooked right it can be a bit soggy verses the way we like it, fluffy, separating into individual grains rather than a heavy semi-solid mass. I've found that it all comes down to prep and water ratio. There are a few tiny steps in preparation (see link in recipe below for technique) that make a huge difference along with the amount of water used to cook this ancient grain. There are two schools of thought as far as water ratio; the first is double the amount of water to quinoa, the other calls for two parts quinoa to three parts water. I tested both and found the second much more to our liking, fluffy with the individual grains separate and evident rather than soggy and somewhat dense.
We LOVE this Black Bean and Quinoa Salad. It was inspired by a Greek café near our home that I visited earlier in the week with my daughter-in-law. Their salad did not include quinoa but was loaded with black beans, chick peas, peppers and bits of onion along with a generous dose of fresh herbs. The dressing was delicious, bright and lemony with a taste of cumin. You would have laughed had you seen Lindsay and I deconstructing our lunch, in hopes of figuring out the delicious salad.
I think I've come quite close and love that this one can serve as a main course as the quinoa is a complete protein and also adds tons of iron, copper, magnesium, zinc, lysine, folate and other essential amino acids. It's also a wonderful source of fiber and has no unsaturated fat. Wow, that's a mouthful! Do try this salad and discover for yourself that quinoa can be fabulously delicious!
- 2 cloves garlic
- fine zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seed you can use ground coriander but the fresh is so much more flavorful!
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-
Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Cover and shake vigorously until well combined.
- 3 cups cooked quinoa*
- 2 15 ounce can black beans
- 1 15 ounce can chick peas
- ½ medium red onion finely chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped bell pepper I used red, orange and yellow, whatever you have is fine
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
-
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl along with ½ cup of the dressing. Let the salad sit for 15 minutes for flavors to develop. Taste and add more dressing if desired.
* ~ See Eating Rules for an excellent tutorial on what, I think, is the best way to cook quinoa.
Afra says
Thank you for sharing this deli recipe 🙂
Courtney J says
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the post!
Chris Scheuer says
So happy you enjoyed this Courtney!
Anonymous says
Are the chick peas and black beans to be drained and rinsed? It doesn't specify, but I can't imagine using all that goopy liquid. Thanks for the great recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Sorry, yes be sure to rinse and drain the chick peas and beans.
bakedbynicole says
We had this for dinner and really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Kathy says
We tried this salad at my house and it is a BIG hit! Thank you so much.
For some reason the "Printable Recipe" link doesn't work - maybe its just my
, but you might want to check...
The Café Sucré Farine says
Thanks Kathy, so glad you enjoyed it. You were right the printable recipe was not working but thanks to you, it is now! 🙂
Denise says
Thanks for posting this recipe! I tried quinoa about a year ago and thought it tasted like dirt. However, I had a big bag of it left and figured I should give it another go. This salad tastes so good, and even though the recipe made a TON, I'm actually looking forward to eating it 🙂
Lisa {Authentic Suburban Gourmet } says
That dressing sounds out of this world! You make terrific salads and I need to try this one soon! Hope your week is going well.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says
This looks so full of good for you stuff! The vinaigrette sounds wonderful - great salad!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
I love quinoa ever since I discovered it a couple of years ago and try to enjoy some at least 1-2 times a week.
Great salad Chris!
Cake Duchess says
You inspire me to get a little healthier here and doing more with quinoa...love this recipe!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Healthy and colorful salad!! Have a blessed Easter 🙂
Erin Dee says
What a healthy salad! I wish I liked stuff like this. It'd be so much easier to be and stay healthy. 🙂
Mary says
What a fabulous salad. I need to work more quinoa into our diet and this recipe is a perfect way to do that. I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. Blessings...Mary
Valerie says
My culinary "kicks" usually involve somethings sugary and decidedly unhealthy - hopefully, before summer, these kicks will be lighter.
This gorgeous quinoa salad looks like the perfect curator of a new obsession. 😀
mia xara says
Hi Chris, the salad looks so rich and is so pleasing to the eye!!Have a blessed Resurrection Day, XO