Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is an ingredient that has recently gained a lot of popularity and rave reviews for being one of the top healthy foods around. It took me a couple of tries before I was able to cook a decent batch that wasn’t too soggy, followed by several failed attempts at creating a good dressing, until I finally came up with a zesty quinoa salad recipe I was pleased with. Cooking by trial and error made me see that the key to a good quinoa salad is to not over dress it so the grains remain a little crunchy.
The dressing used for this recipe is thick and packed with flavor. Only a little is needed to enhance the natural flavors of those lovely roasted vegetables.
The recipe is very simple: Cherry tomatoes, pitted black olives, capers, jalapenos, basil, vinegar and oil. Blend it all up and you’ve got yourself and vibrant, sweet and spicy sauce.
For me, cooking is fun when it’s challenging because I am forced to step outside my comfort zone and think creatively. There have been some terrible concoctions birthing from my kitchen (curdled lemon tarts with boiled egg yolk texture) but also some true standouts like last week’s black bean glazed salmon. Cooking is even more fun when the result is not only good but very healthy too. This quinoa salad is both.
Meal suggestions to pair with this zesty quinoa salad with roasted vegetables: potato celery soup, zucchini cakes, ginger shrimp balls.
Quinoa nutrition facts (according to the the USDA)
1 cup of cooked quinoa equals:
- 222 calories
- 3.6g fat
- 0.0g saturated fat
- 39.41 g carbohydrates
- 31 mg calcium
- 2.76 mg iron
- 318 mg potassium
- 2.02 mg zinc
Zesty Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 2 people 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This is a healthy, refreshing zesty quinoa salad recipe that’s vibrant and filling!
Ingredients
- 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced on the bias
- 1 zucchini, sliced on the bias
- 1 stalk celery, sliced on the bias
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 4 leaves basil, shredded
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
Zesty dressing
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 basil leaf
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 3 black olives (kalamata preferably)
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 385ºF.
- In a sheet tray covered with aluminum foil, put the sliced vegetables and bake for 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven to broil and broil for 8 minutes, until the vegetables are slightly charred.
- Using two shallow bowls or plates, divide the ingredients evenly starting with the quinoa and top with vegetables.
- Pour dressing on top with shredded basil and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve immediately.
Dressing:
Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
Notes
Keep this quinoa salad in a storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
If you can, I recommend keeping the zesty dressing separately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 636
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 147mg
- Fat: 34g
- Saturated Fat: 4.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 76g
- Fiber: 17g
- Protein: 16.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
That should be CRAISINS NOT CRUISING. LOL DARN AUTO CORRECT…
I just wanted to comment on the Quinoa. After several tries and some research, I discovered that it cannot be cooked past the point of the girdles separating from the bead. They look like a tiny hook or belt. If those fall off, the product ends up gummy. The grain is perfect when all the little belts are still attached but pulling away from the grain. It will remain slightly crunchy. This recipe looks great. I will try it for my next BBQ.
My favorite way to eat Quinoa is with roasted corn kernels, scallion bits and a good helping of cruising. This I mix with a mild honey mustard dressing and serve it over Spring Salad Greens.
That’s useful to know, thanks for sharing Manuel 🙂