Sunday Feast № 35 | Quinoa Salad

Don't know where this recipe came from. My guess is that it was from a vegetarian magazine or website or blog. It made it into my recipe notebook back when I didn't keep references. Let me know when you find a reference, but till then I encourage you to give this one a go. Make the whole batch, which is meant to have 12 servings, and make those servings larger for a stand alone lunch or eat the leftovers on the weekdays as your carry-with lunch. Chill in the refrigerator in a meantime, of course. With the magic of quinoa and freshness of vegetables and herb and fruit (yes, tomato is a fruit) and nuttiness, prove me that you are not feeling wholesome after having this salad. Let me know if used it as a side dish, if you used it a side dish at all, and what did you pair it with.

No rice cooker? Lost the box with cooking instructions? No worries. Bring 2 qt/2 L of salter water to boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 12-14 min, or until quinoa is tender and small 'tails' bloom from the grains.

3 cups cooked quinoa ½ cup pine nuts 1 English or regular cucumber peeled and finely chopped 3 Roma tomatoes seeded and finely chopped ½ small red onion finely chopped ½-1 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped ¼ cup olive oil zest of 1 lemon juice of 1 lemon sea salt and pepper

Either preheat the oven to 205°C/400°F, spread pine nuts on baking sheet and toast for 3-4 min or until light brown, or toast pine nuts in a dry skillet. Cool and then transfer to a serving bowl. If the quinoa was just cooked, rinse it under cold water and drain well. Add quinoa to pine nuts and stir in cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley. Fold in oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.