Tonight for dinner we BBQ'd chicken and I made a quinoa salad. I adapted this couscous recipe from Cooking Light. It's been one of our favorites for a long time. I make it chilled; I tried it warm (as the recipe calls for the first time) and didn't especially care for it. But, as a chilled salad it is amazing. We always leave out the red onions and I just chop the ingredients (cucumber, Kalamata olives & grape tomatoes) and stir them in until it looks like enough. Always more than the recipe calls for. I guess I like more "stuff" in my salad. Except for the chickpeas; in my opinion one can is more than enough for a double recipe. I left the feta out of mine, but Glenn & Beanie had some in theirs. Actually, the feta is about all Beanie ate of the quinoa but we let it slide because of her recent tummy issues (more on that later).
It's such an easy recipe. I don't know why I don't make it more often. You just cook (and chill if you like) the quinoa. Stir in the olives, cucumber, tomatoes & chickpeas (and feta if desired). Toss with a dressing of water, lemon juice, salt & pepper and Waalaa! a delicious dinner is served.
Glenn actually said he prefers it with the quinoa. I did too. I'm glad we have a lot of leftovers!!
Thank you for posting this!! Looks SOOO good!!!!! :) Whats the difference between quinoa and cous cous??
ReplyDeleteQuinoa is actually a seed, although it tastes very grain-y. It is really high in protein too. I think that's one of the reasons Glenn likes it better too. We picked some up at Trader Joe's and I tried it one night when I was really feeling like I couldn't eat ANYTHING. It's really good -- you should definitely try it.
ReplyDeleteWe have just recently viewed some cooking shows that featured quinoa and wanted to try it. I found a red variety in the bulk food isle at Fred Meyer, but it is good to know that I can get it at TJ's too!
ReplyDeleteOMG I love quinoa!! We even grew some last year. So tasty!
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