daphne's quinoa salad

 I've never liked the flavor of quinoa...  to me it always tastes a little like dirt.  But when I tried my niece's salad I changed my opinion of the grain.  This recipe is delicious - so I thought I'd share it:

Daphne's Quinoa Salad

about 3 cups cooked quinoa

blanch a handful of string beans (pop in salted boiling water for 15 seconds until just tender and then shock in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking); chop into bite size pieces

sautee/fry thinly sliced shallots or onions, about 1 small onion total

2 tablespoons dried currants

1 can cooked garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 can cooked kidney beans, drained and rinsed

candied lemon zest, optional

toss onions, currants, and garbanzo/kidney beans all together in a bowl with quinoa and string beans while they are still warm. make dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup/honey or agave; juice from 1/2 lemon, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp ground coriander (more to taste). Pour dressing over and allow steam/dressing to help currants plump up. If you want a little heat, chop in 1/4 habanero pepper. add fresh chopped parsley & slivered almonds if desired. Enjoy!!

 

 

P.s. I use cranberries instead of currants, and I leave out the lemon zest.