Image Pending
Mexican Quinoa Salad
Adapted From Cooking Quinoa
3 cups cooked quinoa*
1 can corn, rinsed
1 1/2 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Dressing:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
In a large bowl combine quinoa, corn, black beans, tomatoes and cilantro. In a small bowl combine cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, olive oil, and lemon juice. Whisk until well combined. Toss quinoa salad with 3/4 of dressing (to taste) and serve warm or cold. Drizzle additional dressing on top as desired.
*When making quinoa, rinse the grain thoroughly, then combine with water in a 1:1.75 ratio (so for every cup of quinoa, you'd use 1 3/4 cups water). Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 or so minutes, until the water is absorbed. I used the standard 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, and it came out mushy and I have to boil some of the water off, so using slightly less will work wonders, I think. Note that 1 cup of dried quinoa will approximately yield 3 cups cooked quinoa.
My Notes:
A couple weeks ago, one of my friends brought dinner for all of us studying in the library, and made a quinoa salad. I fell in love with the stuff and vowed to make something of my own. So, I scoured the internet as I usually do and came across the recipe above. I bought all the ingredients for it... and then went on vacation (I couldn't find the quinoa until the night before I left). When I came back, my lime had rotted, and all I had was a lemon, so I used that instead. It turned out a little bland, so I used some old taco sauce to spice it up a little, and then eventually threw the leftovers in a soup. I'll keep working on it.
