Hearty Quinoa Salad (Gluten-Free)
Let's be honest, quinoa on its own taste like ------- (that's a blank, because quinoa tastes like nothing). But once you start adding some veggies, spices, oils, cheeses, etcetera, quinoa quickly transforms into a delicious dish. It's a great neutral base to add any of your favorite nom noms. A quite nutrient dense base, too. Just check out this article from well-being secrets. The 27 science backed health benefits of quinoa listed in that (quite lengthy) article should be enough to convince you.
The way I love to spruce up quinoa? This way. This quinoa salad recipe contains my favorite fruit, avocado, and my favorite vegetable, sweet potato. And then it gets better. The salad also gets this awesome dressing with olive oil, lime, fresh garlic, and chili flakes. *Food coma, commence.*
You know how people say if they eat one chip, they end up eating the whole bag? I don't really have that with chips. But I can relate with this quinoa salad; I can eat the whole pot after one taste. And it's QUINOA! Who am I??
Although I call it a quinoa "salad," I consider this recipe more of a main dish because of its heartiness. And since it's now in the main dish category, I'd consider it a very quick and easy main dish to whip up. Cook some quinoa, cube some sweet potatoes and steam them in a pot with water, chop up some avocado and scallions, stir together a dressing, and voila - main dish ready to go, in 15 minutes or so.
Serve the quinoa directly off the flame, or eat it straight from the fridge the next day. This hearty quinoa salad is good hot or cold, fresh or two days later. I think this dish even gets better after marinating for some time in the dressing.
hearty quinoa salad (Gluten-free)
Adapted from Good Life Eats
Yield: One big 'ole pot
1 1/2 cups quinoa (I used a mixture of red and white), cooked in 3 cups water
2 sweet potatoes
2 avocados
1-2 bunches scallions
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lime, juiced (use lemon if don't have lime)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Chili flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Boil 3 cups of water in a pot and then add in the quinoa. Cook, covered, on a low flame for 15-20 minutes (water should be evaporated).
Cube the sweet potatoes and cook in a pot with water until softened (about 10 minutes).
Chop the avocados into cubes. Slice the scallions.
Combine all the ingredients together. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Add dressing to the quinoa mixture and stir to evenly coat. Serve hot, warm, or cold.
On a completely unrelated note, since I mentioned chips:
photo from memes dot com
