This is a perfect summertime salad, it’s light and can be eaten at room temperature. 

Quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked.  Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies includes all nine essential amino acids.   And, it’s gluten free…It’s a wonder food, I’ll tell ya!  It’s quick and easy to cook (similar to couscous).  You can certainly eat quinoa plain, as a side dish, but I like to jazz it up a bit.  Here’s what I do….

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced

1 hothouse cucumber, seeded and 1/2 inch diced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small jalapeno pepper, minced (seeded)

2 tablespoons chopped scallions, white & light green parts

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 ripe Hass avocado, seeded, peeled and 1/2  inch diced

 

In a medium size saucepan, add quinoa and water, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes.  Cool.

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, cucumber, black beans, jalapeno pepper, scallion, parsley, cilantro and lime zest in a large bowl.  Here’s what it will look like after this step.  Tell me you don’t want to dig into this right now!  These colors are gorgeous.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Now, add the cooled quinoa to the vegetables and mix.  Pour the lime juice and oil mixture over everything and toss well.  Just before serving, add avocado.  The avocado has a tendency to turn brownish (not very pretty) once it is exposed to air, so adding it too soon is not such a great idea.  If you must add it long before serving, squeeze some lime juice over the all the avocado (directly on it).

Here’s what I love to do with this salad.  I bake some chicken – split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on.  Once it’s cooled, I tear the chicken off the bone and cut into chunks.  I keep that chicken in the fridge in a seperate bowl.  In the morning before I leave for work I add a handful of the chicken to a bowl of this salad.  I also add in the avocado at this time.  Then, for lunch at work, I just wrap all the ingredients into a whole wheat wrap – it is so delicious!!  And somewhat more filling, with the chicken in it.  I’ve also tried it with leftover baked salmon that I broke up into pieces and, I have to say, that was spectacular also.  I love the texture, the crunch from the cucumbers and the creaminess from the avocado…

This salad is delicious, healthy and so colorful you won’t be able to resist eating it.