Tasty Quinoa Salad | I Love Quinoa

Here is my favorite quinoa salad tossed in a light salad dressing. 

Serve grilled chicken or fish with this salad and you have an excellent lunch or dinner dish ready.

For dinner I served this salad with some creamy corn and chicken soup with toasted buttery bread.  

Really quick and so yummy.

This salad dressing is so versatile that I drizzle it over grilled veggies, pasta and even fish, a very basic and handy dressing to keep in your fridge. 

You can also store the left over dressing in the refrigerator for up-to a week, just make sure you keep it in an airtight glass jar.

We all know quinoa is a super food and its wonderful benefits so I feel anything this healthy must not be overly seasoned and topped with condaments which overpowers the actual flavor of the quinoa. 

I never enjoy the food if i do not taste the star ingredient. 

Quinoa is supposed to taste nutty with a little bit of a crunch so do not overcook it. Ever.

This post will also show you how to make perfect fully quinoa.

Ingredients for Cooking Quinoa 

1 cup quinoa ( store the left overs for later)

2 tsp olive oil

2 garlic pods grated

1 tsp salt

For the Dressing

1 garlic minced fine

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp vinegar

Assorted salad leaves

Start by adding olive oil to a pan, add the washed and drained quinoa sauté for 2/3 min till you get a nutty aroma, add in the garlic and sauté for another 2 min. 

Adding the garlic after the quinoa is sautéed helps the garlic not get over cooked and burn.

For every one cup quinoa you need two cups water or stock, for this salad i used water.
Once you smell the garlic add 2 cups of water, salt and wait for a boil, once you see the water boiling turn down the flame to low and cook covered for 10/15 min.

                                         

Open the lid after a 5 min stand time. This step helps you get perfectly cooked quinoa every time.

                                     

Allow the quinoa to cool while you make the dressing.

For the dressing mix all the ingredients listed with a small whisk, make sure you taste the dressing and adjust the taste before you add it to the salad.

                                                     

Now all you do is add the quinoa to the salad leaves and toss, pour the dressing and toss well making sure the dressing is well coated.
                           

Serve right away with toasted buttered bread, grilled chicken or fish and soup.

You may add olives, tomatoes, onions and so many of your favorite ingrediants to this salad but I wanted to keep it simple as I was serving it with a creamy soup.

Do try this recipe and I hope you like it.