Move Over White Rice: Quinoa's in the House!

Easy Quinoa Salad Move over white rice: We got New Grains in the House!

Ingredients

• 1 cup red or white quinoa (yields about 3 cups cooked)
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups broth or water (we vote broth!)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 clove garlic, smashed (optional)
• 1 tub (8 oz) mini bocconcini (otherwise known as small balls of fresh mozzarella)
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 12-24 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced fine
• 1 cucumber, diced fine
• Chopped olives (optional)
• Chopped basil (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse your quinoa—and repeat.

Quinoa has a natural coating, called saponin, which can make the seeds bitter when cooked. Luckily, all your quinoa needs is a little rinsing to remove the coating. Here’s how to do it: Before cooking, pour your quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and run cold water over it until the water is clear, about a minute. Swish the quinoa around and rub it with your hands a little during this process. If you don’t have a strainer, put the quinoa and water in a pot, swirl it around and rub it a bit, pour the water off slowly, and then repeat the process at least once. And yes—even quinoa that is “pre-rinsed” would benefit from a quick shower.

2. Get toasty.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, and then add the rinsed quinoa and toast it, stirring, for a minute or two. Toasting quinoa isn’t necessary, but we find it enhances both flavor and texture.

3. Cook your quinoa.

Add the liquid, salt, and smashed garlic and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover your pot, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pot sit another 5 minutes with the lid on—no peeking! When the time is up, you can remove the lid and check to see if it’s done: all the water should be gone and curly spirals (the germ) will have separated from the seeds. If there’s still liquid in the pot, simply return the pot to the stove and cook on low until all the liquid is absorbed. When done, give it a gentle fluffing!

4. Mix up your salad.

We think this salad is great warm, but you can certainly let your quinoa cool down a bit if you’d prefer. When you’re ready, simply put the bocconcini, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, chopped olives, and basil in a large bowl. Add as much of your quinoa as you’d like and give it a stir to mix everything together. Serve and enjoy!

***We don’t think this salad requires a dressing, but you can certainly add a splash of your favorite bottled variety or whip up your own with ½ cup olive oil, 3 Tbs balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbs lemon juice, 1 Tbs Dijon mustard, and a pinch of brown sugar.