After digging through Pinterest for a new quinoa salad recipe, I narrowed it down to two: one from Aggie’s Kitchen and one inspired by Aggie’s posted by Bake Your Day. (Sources below)
Using the ingredients I had, I made a hybrid, which turned out amazing. I really don’t think you can mess this recipe up, experiment and have fun taste-testing.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Handful of Pistachios
- Handful of Roasted Sunflower Seeds
- Handful Craisins
- 3 cups spinach, chopped or torn
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Handful Baby Carrots, chopped
- 1/4 C. Gorgonzola Cheese
Dressing:
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 Tbs. sesame oil
- 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. honey
- Dash of dried parsley
Directions:
In a medium sized pot, toast quinoa in 2 tsp. of olive oil for a few minutes. Add vegetable stock and salt, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until liquid is gone and quinoa germ is exposed.
While quinoa is cooking, mix the dressing ingredients together.
Once the quinoa is done, transfer it to a med-small bowl and mix in nuts and Craisins and about 1.5 Tbsp of dressing and refrigerate for 1+ hour.
Toss spinach, carrots, and green onion together in a bowl. When quinoa is cold, mix in with salad and remaining dressing. Top with gorgonzola cheese.
Enjoy!
Sources:
Aggie’s Kitchen
Nutty Quinoa Salad with Cranberries and Fresh Spinach
http://bit.ly/Snl6YO
BakeYourDay
Toasted Walnut Quinoa Spinach Salad
http://bit.ly/Snl6YO
