Ingredients: Quinoa

For weeks now, I'm been looking for a great quinoa salad recipe.

You might be asking, what the heck is quinoa? If so, don't feel bad - I hadn't heard of it either until two years ago, when Topher's cousin's wife Jenna served it to us with dinner.

According to the New York Times, "The tiny, ancient Peruvian seed, which has a mild, nutty flavor, is related to leafy green vegetables and is often used like a grain. Quinoa is as versatile as rice but it has a protein content that is superior to that of most grains, because it contains all the essential amino acids."

Quinoa is very easy to cook - 2 parts water/stock to 1 parts quinoa - and it's ready in ~15 minutes. It can be used like rice, couscous, or risotto: because of its mild flavor, you can add almost any vegetables to it to create a delicious dish.

Thus my search for a quinoa salad recipe. I wanted something that was light & summery, but also colorful & nutritious. My online research reveals recipes for ...

• Golden Sunshine Quinoa Salad (scallions, golden raisins, orange juice, & cucumbers)
• Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad (cranberries, green beans, walnuts, & green onions)
• Gluten-free Summer Quinoa Salad (cherry tomatoes, avocado, artichoke hearts, pine nuts, & capers)
• Warm Quinoa Salad with Shrimp & Asparagus (sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, shrimp, asparagus, green peas, & cashews)
• Warm Quinoa & Broccoli Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
• Gluten-Free Quinoa Taco Salad

I even thought of coming up with my own recipe (broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, cannelini beans, & feta?) but I wasn't brave enough to try it.

So I turned to a cookbook: Patricia Green's Quinoa 365, and there I found a recipe for a Sunny Summer Salad.

Sunny Summer Salad

Ingredients
1 ½ cups water
¾ cups quinoa
2 cups finely diced zucchini
1 cup finely diced red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)
1 cup finely diced yellow bell pepper
1/3 cup sunflower seeds, roasted and unsalted (I couldn't find unsalted, so I just used roasted & salted seeds)
1/3 cup dried currants (I substituted raisins)
2 T minced fresh parsley
2 T minced fresh cilantro
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
¼ cup olive oil1 tsp minced fresh garlic
½ tsp salt
A pinch each of cayenne pepper, ground cumin, and ground tumeric


Directions

1. Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to a simmer, cover, & cook for 10 minutes.Turn the heat off but keep the saucepan covered on the burner for an additional 4 minutes.Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and allow to cool.
2. Place the zucchini, red & yellow peppers, sunflower seeds, currants, parsley, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the cooled quinoa.
3. Whisk the lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, and turmeric in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and gently toss until evenly distributed.

I was getting together with family for dinner last Friday, so I made this dish on Thursday afternoon, refrigerated it overnight, then let it warm up to room temperature just before serving. I also doubled the recipe, but I didn't have quite enough lemon juice to double the dressing, so it turned out a little dry. My husband suggested that it might have been better if it was made & eaten on the same day, so I'll try that next time.

Final verdict: easy to make, flavorful, & nutritious. I'll probably make this again but mess with the recipe -- fewer peppers, more dressing.

For an easy, delicious, & nutritious weeknight dinner, try Real Simple's Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing. (I liked the stuffing so much that I took the leftovers to work the next day for lunch.)

For more info on quinoa, check out NPR's Quinoa: A Sacred, Super Crop.

For more info about other whole grains, check out NPR's Going with Whole Grains.