Quinoa Greek Salad: KEEN-WA

Worse than cooking for a militaristic French chef is catering a 6 year old's vegetarian birthday party. I thought I was on vacation?

The menu as requested: hot dogs (tofu dawgs), hamburgers (boca burgers), a cake in the shape of a gigantic pine cone stuffed with candy (sorry, I'm not a magician), different types of salads (no prob), and watermelon (bring it on).

This kid actually asked for salad. Crazy. What's the world coming to? So I made kid friendly salads: fruit, vegetable, potato, cherry tomato & buffalo mozzarella skewers, and quinoa.

If the scent of Boca burgers sizzling on the the grill reminds you of burning tires, don't worry, zesty Quinoa Greek Salad is fresh and palate cleansing with lemon and fresh herbs.

Quinoa is the 'it' grain and certainly has been the 'it' grain to many civilizations for over 6,000 years. I'm just discovering it now. Call me a neanderthal.

It's high in protein (12% – 18%) and unlike rice and corn, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source. It's cooks up fluffy and has a great nutty taste.

I made a big batch of quinoa for the party and to half I added Greek salad accouterments: tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, parsley, olives, red pepper, lemon juice, olive oil.

The other half we reheated in the morning with a little milk and honey for a hot breakfast cereal. Delicious.

Technorati Tags: rabbit, salad, vegan, vegetarian

Quinoa Greek Salad
serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 box cherry tomatoes slices in half
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 crumbled feta (or more if you like)
1/4 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
3-5 springs mint, chopped
1/4 red onion minced
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
Salt & freshly groung pepper

Instructions
1. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a small pot with one cup of grain, cover at a low simmer and cook for 14–18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. When al dente remove from heat and let cool. Fluff with fork tines. Can be made the day before and refrigerated.
2. Mix lemon juice and oil together for the dressing. Add red onion so it will marinate and mellow.
3. Add all chopped all other ingredients to the quinoa and pour dressing over the top. Gently toss and add salt and pepper to taste.

Comments

[SAS]

Quinoa - the celiac's friend! Yeah, that and Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal. Even rice and corn get boring if those are the *only* grains you're eating...

Quinoa is great, although I doubt I would have eaten it at age 6. Back then, I got upset if someone put syrup on my French toast (it was SUPPOSED to be served with powdered sugar!!). How times have changed...

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

I'm just discovering the joys of quinoa, too. It's got a nice mouth feel, and I use it in recipes that might call for barley or bulgur wheat.

[Ms. Glaze]

I think that quinoa would also be a good sub for couscous and rice too. It really makes a surprisingly delicious breakfast cereal in place of oatmeal.

[Haley]

We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email haleyglasco@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)

Haley

http://blog.keyingredient.com/

[Ziemendorf]

I really enjoyed this recipe. It was a nice change and with so much protein, it really helped us with our low-cholesterol diet! We'll be eating a lot more quinoa!