Southwestern Quinoa Salad

I’m sorry if I haven’t been as quick to respond to emails and comments for the last few days. Thanks to all of your great survey feedback and the early release of my book in hardback I’ve been pretty overwhelmed.

I’ve also been sick. As in can’t move, really need to take a closer look at my diet because how on earth could I have gotten this sick – sick. After five days, I’m finally feeling well enough to function again, though I think I’ll spend most of the day on the couch reading a book on my iPad.

Hopefully, by tomorrow I’ll be well enough to start working on some of the changes I hope to make to the website.

In the meantime, I’ve got a great new quinoa salad for you. Don’t let the long ingredient list scare you. This dish comes together in the time it takes the quinoa to cook. I wish I could tell you how much I enjoyed it, but hubby had eaten just about all of it before my appetite came back. He was nice enough to pick out the tomatoes (he hates tomatoes) and I can confirm that they were quite delicious. 🙂

Recipe inspired by Fine Cooking

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Southwestern Quinoa Salad

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa rinsed
• 1 ¼ cup water
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dressing
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce more or less to taste/depending on hot sauce used
• Salad
• 1 cup cooked black beans drained and rinsed
• ½ cup grape tomatoes quartered
• ½ cup red onions Optional: use marinated red onions - see below
• 2 scallions chopped
• 1 avocado diced
• ¼ cup pine nuts

Instructions

1. Optional: Make marinated onions by bringing ½ cup red wine vinegar to a boil. Remove from heat and add onions. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.
2. In a medium sauce pan combine quinoa, water, chili powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, coriander, cumin and salt. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit covered for an additional five minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine lime juice, olive oil, agave nectar and hot sauce. Whisk until well combined.
4. In a large bowl combine cooked quinoa, black beans, grape tomatoes, red onions,
5. scallions and avocado. (Note: if you will not be serving at once wait until you are ready to serve to add avocado.) Toss with dressing and top with pine nuts.

Recipe Notes

Servings 6, Calories 270, Fat 13g, Carbohydrates 32.5g, Protein 8.6g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 520mg, Fiber 8.1g, Sugars 4.6g, WW Pts 7