After splurging for the past several weekends (’tis the season, amirite?), I was craving something really healthy. I had some unused quinoa in my cupboard so I hopped on the google machine and searched for some recipes.
I like veggies, I like black beans, and I love simple flavors that mix together and create a party in my mouth. It was a no-brainer to choose this quinoa black bean salad recipe from Savvy Vegetarian.
Here’s the easy-to-read, ad-free, copy/pasta version from the site:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 2 cups (1 can) cooked black beans. If using canned beans, drain and rinse well
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced, OR 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 carrot, peeled, halfed lengthwise, sliced thin diagonally
- 1 cup chopped fresh yellow or green beans
- 1/2 cup red pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup green pepper, diced
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 medium ripe tomato
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1/4 cup sliced olives
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or basil
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Fresh ground pepper
Directions
- The quinoa can be made ahead of time and refrigerated
- Rinse quinoa and drain through a large fine mesh strainer
- Place in a 2 qt pot with 1 1/2 c. water and 1/2 tsp salt
- Bring to a full boil, cover tightly, turn down to low, and cook for 15 minutes
- Remove from heat and allow to sit 5 minutes covered
- Fluff quinoa gently with a fork and set aside to cool
- If using canned beans, drain, rinse and set aside to drain
- Sauté jalapeno, fresh garlic, in 1 tsp olive oil until garlic is slightly browned
- Add the celery, carrot, green beans, green & red peppers and sauté 5 minutes
- Add the cumin and coriander, cook and stir 2 minutes
- Blend dressing ingredients with a whisk or shake in a jar
- Add quinoa, black beans, sautéed veggies, tomatoes, cucumber, fresh minced cilantro or basil, scallions, to a large bowl
- Pour on dressing and stir gently to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste
- Serve quinoa salad warm, or cover and chill
I used 3/4 C. of quinoa and 1/4 C. of orange lentils instead. I also used a rice cooker instead of the stove top.
Of course, I’m no hippy so I added scrambled eggs to the equation. They started out on the side and ended up all mixed together.
Let me know if you try it and what you think!
