Are you looking for a different side dish to serve with your meals? Try making Quinoa Salad. It is a delicious side dish that is healthy as well as tasty.
You can get creative with this dish by adding your favorite vegetables. I used tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, cilantro and garbanzo beans in my recipe. You can also add diced avocados, olives or red onions. For a totally different take on this dish, try sprinkling some feta cheese on top too!
TMH NOTE: This is an E recipe without the optional olive oil, olives or avocados. Adding olive oil, olives and avocados will make it a crossover.
Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it. 🙂
Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked white quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and seeded (plus about 1 tablespoon salt)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 stalks green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, optional
- The juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Place the uncooked quinoa into a strainer. Rinse the quinoa under running water. Place the rinsed quinoa, water, garlic powder and sea salt into a medium-sized sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until the water begins to boil. Turn the heat to low then place a lid on the pot; cook for 15 minutes then turn off the heat. Let the quinoa sit in the covered pot for 5 more minutes (do not remove the lid). After the 5 minutes, remove the lid then fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set aside.
2. Peel and seed the cucumber. Dice the cucumber then place into a plastic strainer or colander. Sprinkle the tablespoon of salt over the cucumber; stir to ensure the cucumber pieces are evenly salted. Place the strainer over a bowl to catch the cucumber liquid that will drain. Let the salted cucumbers drain for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, rinse the salt off the cucumbers then drain out any excess water. Set aside.
3. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Place into a small mixing bowl.
4. Add the onions and cilantro to the bowl.
5. Add the drained garbanzo beans to the bowl.
6. Add the cucumbers to the bowl.
7. Add the quinoa to the bowl.
8. Add the olive oil (omit the oil to keep this recipe low fat) and lemon juice to the bowl. Stir to combine the ingredients, taste and adjust the seasonings (salt and pepper) to your liking. I wanted a bit more garlic flavor, so I added more garlic powder.
9. Stir once more, then serve and ENJOY!
