Rainbow Quinoa Salad

- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4cups water
- ⅔cup chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, raisins, cranberries, figs, currants)
- ¼cup chopped cilantro
- ¼cup chopped fresh mint
- ½cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt to taste
- 1cup red quinoa or rainbow quinoa, rinsed
- ¼cup lightly toasted pistachios
- ¼cup lightly toasted almonds, chopped
- ¼cup chopped walnuts
- 2teaspoons lemon zest
- ¼cup fresh lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 1small garlic clove, puréeed (optional)
- ¼teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon pomegranate molasses
- ⅓cup extra- virgin olive oil
For the Salad
For the Dressing
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan and add quinoa and salt to taste. Bring back to a rolling boil, then reduce heat slightly and boil gently for 20 minutes, or until you see a thread emerge from the blond and red quinoa. Drain and shake well in the strainer, then return to pot. Cover pot with a dishtowel and then , then place a lid over the dishtowel and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes undisturbed. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, whisk together lemon juice, salt, garlic, cinnamon, and pomegranate molasses. Whisk in olive oil.
- Step 3
Toss together quinoa and dressing. Add remaining ingredients and toss together. Transfer to a platter, a wide bowl or individual plates and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a keeper. Really delicious whether the quinoa is warm or room temp. Nice dish to prepare ahead of time and bring to a picnic, too. Like Kate I used maple syrup in the dressing in lieu of the pomegranate molasses, and added a splash of balsamic. There's really so little of it that you can hardly, if at all, tell the difference.
Excellent. Loved the lemon/pomegranate molasses/garlic dressing. And for those of you wondering if you should get pomegranate molasses - do so! It is one of my favorite things. Quite sour but with a great depth of flavor. I like marinating chicken breasts in it with a little soy sauce and pepper. I can find it in the "import" section of my supermarket.
This recipe made a quinoa lover of my husband. I had to make a few substitutions to avoid a trip to the store: extra mint and parsley instead of cilantro; cashews instead of pistachios, maple syrup instead of pomegranate molasses, and red palm oil instead of olive oil (for added nutrition). Absolutely delicious!
I knew this was a big hit at a potluck when people pointed it out on the table telling me I had to try that salad. I modified it slightly by adding 3 sliced spring onions and cut up sugar peas slightly fried in a wok with a little olive oil.
This recipe is sooo good. I added crumbled feta as well and it bumped it up sooo much!
Very good and easy to make. Next time I’ll cut back on oil.
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