Italian quinoa salad

4
Points®
Total Time
40 min
Prep
25 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Moderate
Fresh and filling, this easy salad is ideal for packed lunches or as a dinner side dish. If you’d like to bulk it up, add sautéed tofu to keep it vegetarian or stir in chopped rotisserie chicken or sautéed shrimp. Quinoa is grain-like in nature and flavor but is actually a high-protein seed. Toasting it brings out a rich nuttiness, which gives this salad greater depth and flavor. It’s also a good idea to rinse quinoa before cooking it. Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin, that can make it taste bitter once cooked. But, you can easily get rid of that coating by rinsing it.

Ingredients

Uncooked quinoa

1 cup(s)

Celery

2 rib(s), medium, ribs, minced

Cucumber

1 medium, seedless, peeled, minced

Radishes

8 medium, chopped

Scallions

5 medium, roots trimmed and minced

Orange

2 medium, peeled and cut into segments*

Chives

2 Tbsp, chopped

Basil

½ cup(s), fresh, chopped

Pine nuts

¼ cup(s), toasted

Olive oil

2 tsp, extra virgin

Table salt

tsp, or to taste

Black pepper

tsp, or to taste

Instructions

  1. Over a medium flame, heat a one-quart saucepan, and add the quinoa. Toast the quinoa for a few minutes and then pour over 1 1/2 cups water. Cover with a tight fitting lid and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook the quinoa for 15 minutes. Shut off the heat and allow the quinoa to sit for 10 minutes.
  2. In a serving bowl, toss all the ingredients together to thoroughly combine. Season to taste and serve. Yields about X cups per serving.