Springtime Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is such a versatile ingredient.  Serve it warm, serve it hot or serve it chilled and the results are pleasing.  I love my old tried-and-true Quinoa Tabbouleh that I serve over the summer months.  True too, that I love my winter Quinoa Vegetable Salad with pumpkin and winter squash.  It only makes sense that I needed a Springtime Quinoa.  So here we are!

The early crops are coming up strong in our gardens so they dictated the ingredients for my new Springtime Quinoa Salad.  It’s so simple that writing a recipe isn’t necessary.  I’m going to tell it as my grandmother would have said it.

Make a batch of quinoa.  While it’s cooking, rinse about two cups of black beans.  I make mine from dried beans but canned will work if you rinse them well and drain off the water.  Chop about a palm-full of red onion.  Chop another palm-full of red bell pepper.  Grab a bunch of cilantro and chop well.  Grab some flat leaf parsley and chop it well too.  One large garden scallion from our garden is enough but if you use store-bought, chop at least 3.  Chop one large seeded tomato into small dice sized pieces.

Season it all with a good couple of grinds of sea salt and black pepper.  Combine lemon and olive oil at a ratio of 1:3.  Whisk until it is emulsified and toss with the salad ingredients.  You can also enhance this with a garnish of Feta Cheese or some toasted almond slivers.  Serve at room temperature, warmed or chilled.  It’s up to you!  Any which way, it’s good.

Unfortunately our quinoa crop was destroyed by local construction so I purchased the quinoa.  However, the onion, scallion, parsley, cilantro and lemon all came from our garden. Soon I will be able to use the tomatoes too.  Homegrown makes it better if you can do it.

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