I visited my aunt recently and she made this delicious salad. It’s lightly flavored and very delicate. She went the extra mile and toasted the quinoa before cooking it. It adds a lovely depth of flavor. If you decide to toast the quinoa, beware that it starts popping out of the pan like popcorn, so have a lid or splatter guard on hand.
This is one of the vegan dishes served to Bill Clinton at a luncheon. Here’s a link to the original recipe. My version uses a lot more lemon and cilantro just because I like them so much. I also added edamame and sweet red bell pepper for more color. It’s a perfect dish for celebrating the arrival of spring!
(FYI for Dr. Fuhrman Eat To Live Plan followers: this salad complies with both the Six Week Weight Loss and Life Plan parts of his diet.)
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup grape tomatoes – cut in half
1 cup edamame – cooked and fully cooled
½ cup cucumber – diced
½ cup red bell pepper – diced
1/3 cup chives
¼ cup cilantro
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemons)
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Place quinoa and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer. Cook 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool completely.
2. Cook edamame per package instructions. Let cool completely.
3. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
4. Salt to taste. Adjust lemon and cilantro if desired (I always like more!).
5. Serve chilled.
cheri says
Hi Amy, What a gorgeous salad, love all the flavors and colors. I will be making this straight away, my kind of salad.
Amy says
Thanks, Cheri. This really tastes like spring!
Shannon says
This sounds AMAZING. I love how herbaceous it is and that the dressing is so light. I’ll file this one for when good tomatoes make it to us!
Amy says
Thanks, Shannon!
Sarah @ Running On Brie says
I love all the colors in this salad! And what a great way to incorporate edamame. I’ll be trying this for sure!
Amy says
Thanks, Sarah. Edamame has that spring green color that I love!
Tonga says
This is on my to make list as soon as I complete my 6 week ETL challenge. I noticed with the quinoa you only cooked it for 15 min, did you soak it prior to cooking it or purchase the type that is presoaked?
Amy says
Hi Tonga: First of all, congrats on doing the ETL 6 week challenge! Very exciting. And yes, I only cook the quinoa for 15 minutes, but I usually let it sit, covered, for another 5 – 10 minutes to make sure all of the water is absorbed. I do not soak it ahead of time, although you might want to rinse it first. If you want a deeper, nuttier flavor, you can toast the quinoa seeds before cooking. Do this in a non-stick skillet over low heat and move the seeds around the pan constantly. Warning – they will stop jumping out of the pan like popcorn as they start toasting so have a lid on hand and remove from the heat as soon as they turn light brown. Good luck with ETL! And PS – you don’t have to wait until you complete ETL to eat this salad, as everything in it is ETL compliant!