Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
I feel like I’ve been on a perpetual journey through life to be better about my eating habits. No matter how many delicious AND healthy meals I make, I always keep getting sucked back into the junk food. One of the things that draws me away from the healthier meals is the fact that, often times, I walk away from those meals still hungry. In my quest to find filling, healthy options I stumbled upon quinoa bowls. I was skeptical at first because quinoa both looks and sounds weird, but I promise it’s a grain that has changed my life. It is a healthful complex carbohydrate which keeps me energized, and it satisfyingly fills me up at the end of the meal. This Mediterranean version of a quinoa salad is sure to become a staple in your diet.
Cooking quinoa is no more difficult than cooking instant rice. You boil then simmer until all the water is absorbed using a 2 to 1 ratio of water to quinoa. The experts will tell you that you are supposed to rinse the dry quinoa before you cook it. The idea is to wash away excess starch and stuff. I have to say that I always dispense with this step, but if you want to rinse the grains until the water goes clear, then go right ahead. When the quinoa is fully cooked, I take a short-cut to cool it down. If you spread the cooked grains on a sheet-pan and then throw it in the fridge, they’ll be cool enough to use in about 10-15 minutes.
The dressing for this salad has no oil (thereby saving you fat in the recipe). I use a lot of sour for this, because I really like that vinegary pop! If you are particularly sensitive to sour, I would substitute 2 of the tablespoons of vinegar for water. This will tone down the sour, but still keep the salad moist. Make sure that you use actual fresh lemon juice for this salad. The stuff in the bottle just cannot compare in this fresh application, plus you want to get the complexity of flavor from the fresh lemon zest as well. I add the garlic and onions during the dressing stage to let them sit in the acid for a little bit. Both raw garlic and onions can have a bit of an acrid taste to them. Allowing both to sit in the vinegar and lemon juice will remove that off-putting taste and just keep the good flavors we like from their cooked versions.
The accompaniments to the quinoa in this salad are inspired by the flavors in a Greek salad. Tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese are all flavor staples that I associate with Grecian cooking. In addition, I add in the oregano and crushed pepper to add more flavor and kick. I have thought on more than one occasion of adding Kalamata olives to the mix, but I was already pushing the salt content to add the cheese so I didn’t go whole hog on the olives (I have a bit of a blood pressure issue…). If you have no such concerns then please add them and let me know how it tastes!
This is one of those salads where the longer it sets, the better it gets. I like to make a big bowl at the start of the week and dole it out for lunches throughout. It keeps up just fine through that time, and just keeps getting better and better. I really hope that you all try this recipe and let me know how it goes. It is one of my favorites and I know it’ll become one of yours too!
Remember, you don’t have to be a professional chef to make magic in your kitchen!
Joe the Blue Wizard
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (255 g) Uncooked Quinoa
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) Red Wine Vinegar
- Zest and Juice of 2 Lemons
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced or grated
- 1 small or 1/2 large Red Onion, chopped
- 1 pt. (300 g) Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium English Cucumber, quartered and chopped
- 7 oz. (200 g) Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 2 tsp. (2 g) Dried Oregano
- 1/4 tsp. (large pinch) Crushed Red Pepper
- Kosher Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan combine quinoa with 3 cups cool water.
- Put over a high heat until water comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and spread quinoa on a sheet pan, then refrigerate until cool to the touch.
- Meanwhile, combine vinegar, lemon zest and juice, garlic and onion in a large bowl.
- When quinoa is cool add to the bowl with the dressing along with remaining ingredients.
- Stir until combined and add salt to taste.
- Eat immediately or allow to sit at least an hour in the fridge for depth of flavor.
- Will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.
