A Recipe Blog

I made this salad for friends and family this week, and it went down quite well! My aunt even asked for the recipe. It’s a modification of this awesome quinoa salad recipe.

Also, just so you know, quinoa has a weird pronunciation; ‘keen-wa’. More about this yummy seed at the quinoa wikipedia entry. You can buy it at Coles & health food stores.

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. cranberries
• 2 Tbs. dried apricots, thinly sliced
• 1 cup red & white quinoa, rinsed well
• 1 large lemon
• 3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
• 2 medium firm-ripe avocados (6 to 7 oz. each), pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 Tbs. coarsely chopped dry roasted cashews
• Salt & pepper for boiling quinoa & to taste

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, soak the cranberries and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a 2-litre saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (The outer germ rings of the grain will remain chewy and white. Some germ rings may separate from the grain and will look like white squiggles). Immediately fluff the quinoa with a fork and place in a bowl lined with baking paper. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Finely grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze 1 Tbs. juice into a small bowl. Whisk together with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, toss this dressing with the quinoa, cranberries, apricots, avocado, scallions, and cashews.

Tags: boiled, fruit, gluten free, nuts, quick, salad, vegetarian