This favorite salad is not only delicious, it’s a “super food” powerhouse. I like to have a bit for breakfast — it’s seriously sustaining, and I feel like my insides are thanking me all day for the healthy grain, fats, and antioxidants. It also works as a great to-go lunch or a nice side for supper, and keeps very well for several days. It is so darn yummy you will want plenty on hand.
Recipe
Tomato Olive Quinoa Salad
Here’s a 6-serving recipe.INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed twice
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- 1 6oz can green olives in brine, drained and rinsed and sliced (note: do not use cocktail olives or stuffed olives)
- 2 scallions, cleaned and trimmed and sliced thin (use both white and green parts)
- ½ cup roasted red tomatoes in oil, chopped in to 1” pieces. (These are usually available in grocery store olive bars. You can also find them jarred. Drain the oil first and put it in a container — you will use it as a separate ingredient in the salad.)
- 2-3 tablespoons of oil from the tomatoes (you can use more if desired, based on your own taste preferences)
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- 2 avocados (optional)
- Arugula (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil water in a covered pot.
- Once the water is boiling, add the quinoa, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until done.
- Let the quinoa cool. (You can spread it on a cool cookie sheet if you want to speed that up.)
- While the quinoa is cooling, gently combine all the other ingredients.
- Add in the quinoa.
- Season the mix with lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper to taste. The flavor of this salad only gets better as it sits, so feel free to give it a little time for everything to come together.
- Before eating, garnish each serving with an optional avocado half. Or place the complete mix on a bed of arugula, lightly dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.
Quinoa The Superfood
Quinoa is a seed related to both beets and spinach (though you’d never guess that to look at it). It dates back three or four thousand years, and was first cultivated by the Incas. Originally grown only in the high Andes mountains of Bolivia and Peru, it is now produced in many countries. Quinoa is gluten-free (great for celiacs!), high in protein, and one of the few plant foods that contain all nine essential amino acids, which makes it a terrific food source for vegetarians and vegans. It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants. When buying quinoa, I encourage you to find fair-trade brands, and of course always go with organic if you can.