It was one of those days, when I was almost out of all veggies and had to come up with a quick-lunch with whatever was available in the fridge! So armed with my meagre supplies, I made this Simple Quinoa Salad Bowl! I call it a salad, which implies it should be eaten cold, but I love it warm too.
Quinoa is deemed to be a superfood and rightly so. It's a glutenfree, high protein grain - one of the few plant foods with all the essential nine amino acids. It has very high fiber content and is a low GI food. Rich in riboflavin ( B2), magnesium, iron, manganese and various antioxidants, it is certainly a grain, you'd want to include in your diet. I strongly recommend buying locally produced variety. It's always a good idea to support your local farmers and we must do what we can to reduce our carbon footprint. By all means, if you wish , substitute quinoa with amaranth, our own homegrown superfood!
Back to this recipe - It's really so simple, delicious and versatile. I used whatever I had on hand and you can too. Use any vegetable combination you like, add any protein to make it heartier, serve the salad as is or make into a complete meal, Buddha Bowl style, like I did with my Baked Red Rice Falafels. The smoky cumin flavoured vinaigrette takes it up quite a few notches. The kids and the mister totally love these bowls and believe it not, there is no fuss about eating any of the veggies from anyone. And since all of us are huge fans of Roasted Sweet Potatoes, they kind of seal the deal !
I hope you get to try this salad bowl and enjoy it as much as we do. I'd love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below and share a picture of your creation on INSTAGRAM using the hashtag #tashasartisanfoods.
Simple Quinoa Salad Bowl
Ingredients
Salad:
- 3/4 cup Quinoa
- 1.5 cups Water
- 1 cup Chickpeas, cooked
- 1/2 cup Carrots, diced
- 1/2 cup Cucumber, diced
- 2-3 Tbsp Small handful coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup Dried cherries/ cranberries
Salad dressing:
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Extra virgin Olive oil
- 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Serving the salad:
- 1 Corn on the cob, steamed Rubbed with lemon juice, olive oil, chilli powder, salt
- 2 Tomatoes, quartered
- Roasted Sweet potatoes Recipe on the blog, please check notes for the link
- Dip of your choice, for the sweet potatoes I served with homemade sundried tomato hummus
- 1 Lemon, quartered
Instructions
Salad:
- Wash the quinoa really well. Put in a medium sized saucepan, pour the water over it. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook till done. Take it out on a plate or tray and let it cool while you're prepping other ingredients.
- Once the quinoa has cooled down. Add all the other ingredients, stir in the dressing. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Eat it immediately or refrigerate for later use.
Salad Dressing:
- Combine all the ingredients in a small jar. Shake well till well amalgamated. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Assembling the salad:
- Divide the quinoa salad, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, corn among 4 bowls. Sprinkle lemon juice. Serve with the dip of your choice.
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