Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Fresh Mex Quinoa Salad

I'm finding quinoa popping up more and more on restaurant menus and recipe posts in the blogosphere, which just gets me more excited about using it. (Want to know what quinoa is? See this post.) This summer I came up with a salad that I really have enjoyed because it's filling and fresh. And it keeps for a few days in the refrigerator which makes it nice to make ahead of time and put in portions to take to work for lunch or on a picnic.

I must say I've never measured exact quantities . . . it's a little different each time, but delicious the same.

Ahead of time cook your quinoa and black beans and cool. (I usually do this the day before and then let them cool completely and store in the refrigerator overnight). For quinoa: rinse and add 2 times amount of water to quinoa. Reduce heat and cover for 15 minutes).
Prepare the following:
roma tomatoes
green pepper
cilantro
fresh corn from the cob (or frozen corn)

Mix the chopped ingredients with the quinoa and drained and rinsed black beans.

Then squeeze generous amounts of lime juice along wtih plenty of salt, pepper, and cumin to desired taste. I do quite a bit of cumin and salt and a little black pepper. Mix thoroughly and serve with avocado and cilantro on top.

Does anyone else out there use quinoa? I'd be excited to hear how you use it. I've tried it as a side at restaurants with a bit of mint in place of rice and it was absolutely delicious. Share your ideas in the comments section!

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