My new favorite way to experiment with whole grains and legumes is to pair them with a light vinaigrette and add a favorite fruit and/or veggie combination. This trio of grapefruit, jicama and avocado I first tried in a salad prepared by Traci Des Jardins and it works marvelously in the base of quinoa. Try it on its own as a side or salad, or use it as a base for grilled prawns. Pass the lime! (And the wine!)
Quinoa Salad with Grapefruit, Jicama, Avocado and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
serves 4 – 6
2 cups cooked quinoa (see Kitchen Coach Tips below)
1 ruby grapefruit, peeled, segmented and each segment diced into 6ths
1/2 jicama, skin removed and diced into small 1/4 inch dice
1 scallion, finely diced
8 spearmint leaves, finely diced
zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1 avocado, peeled, pit removed, and diced into 1/4 inch dice
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon olive oil
1. Stir together cooked quinoa, grapefruit, jicama, scallion, mint and lemon zest.
2. Drizzle the olive oil, lemon juice, and agave nectar over the quinoa mixture. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
3. Place pumpkin seeds in a small frying pan and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Roast on stovetop, medium heat, until seeds begin to turn golden brown and make a popping sound.
4. Just before serving, add 1 diced avocado and the roasted pumpkin seeds to the quinoa mixture and stir gently.
Kitchen Coach Tips
- Cook quinoa just as you would rice in a rice cooker!
- Be sure to rinse quinoa with water a few times before you start cooking. The seed produces a soapy flavored residue as a deterrent to pests — it is harmless to us, but doesn’t taste very good — so just put the quinoa in a bowl of water, swish and pour off the water two or three times.
- This salad is best the day it is made, but does keep well for up to two days. If you know you are making it ahead, save the avocado and pumpkin seeds until you are ready to serve.
