I have to admit that I am not usually a recipe person. Well, that’s not totally true; I look at recipes to get a feel for what I’m making, but when it comes to exact amounts of ingredients I am much more tempted to wing it. So turning a salad that I can make with my eyes closed into an actual recipe was a bit of an experience… but a good one! I made it earlier in the week so I could take pictures, but ended up making a second one yesterday to take along to a dinner party. Needless to say it was a hit.
Now for the description…
This is a just as good of a summer salad as it is for fall. The black beans give it a heartier feel, while the cilantro and mango liven it up. Originally I made it with all white quinoa, but it’s fun to throw in a little red to give the salad even more color and a crunchier feel. When I do mix white and red quinoa, I cook them both together, but add about 2 tablespoons more water.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- dash of salt
- 1 can organic black beans
- 1 can organic corn
- 1/2 red pepper, cubed
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 2 green onions, diced
- 1/2 mango, cubed
- 1/4 of a cup chopped cilantro (add more if you’re a cilantro freek like myself!)
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions:
- Bring 2 cups of water, olive oil, salt and quinoa to a boil, turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes or until quinoa has fluffed up and all water has cooked off. Let cool.
- Combine rest of ingredients in large bowl
- Mix lime juice with cayenne pepper and pour into bowl
- Add quinoa to rest of ingredients
Serves 6-8.
keen on quinoa 