Double Blueberry Quinoa Salad
By: carol wasserman
Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010 - 5:05pm

Ingredients




1 cup quinoa
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
 cup dried blueberries
3 scallions, sliced thin
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
 cup pecans, toasted

Preparation

1 Rinse quinoa well in a fine mesh strainer. 2 Add to a pot with 2 cups water. 3 Bring to a boil. 4 Add sea salt, cover, reduce heat to low. 5 Simmer 15 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. 6 Tranfer to a large bowl. 7 Add the vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and mix well. 8 Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

About


Notice the fresh and dried blueberries. I've also added toasted pecans, chopped cucumbers, and sliced scallions. Some other options include currants, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped red roasted peppers, cilantro or parsley, shredded carrots, and minced red onion.
The quinoa itself is seasoned with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and sea salt. Unseasoned quinoa can be too bland for most people.
Quinoa has a bitter outer coating called a saponin. Therefore, it is important to rinse quinoa well in order to remove this bitter substance. The best way is to transfer the quinoa to a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cool water for a few minutes. Alternatively, "no rinse quinoa" is often sold in healthfood stores. This quinoa you don't need to rinse before you cook. You can purchase the off white color (in the photograph), or the red quinoa.