This is a effortless weeknight salad of tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and quinoa, I’ve wanted to make this Arabic dish for some time now but I wanted to showcase this lovely grain as well. Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to rice or couscous etc.The nutrient composition is very good compared with common cereals. Quinoa seeds contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

You can’t go wrong with such a simple dish. I served this with a spicy Indian curry chicken. The cold, tart salad lends a great balance to the hot spicy chicken dish. The curry chicken recipe will follow after this one. Should you want to create the same meal. otherwise, some chicken or tuna would go great with this salad.

 
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 container tomatoes, diced

2 hot peppers seeded and diced
1 cucumber, peeled, and cut into bite size pieces
1 cup scallions (about 1 bunch), green and white parts diced
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Pepper
Directions
1. Place quinoa in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until grain turns deeper in color, about three minutes. Make sure to keep stirring and not to put the heat too high (the quinoa will start to pop if to hot)

2. Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and a 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and fluff with a fork. (Make this ahead of time and allow to cool in the refrigerator so it will be available for the plating of the meal)
3. Combine olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, lemon juice, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, green onions, and parsley. Stir in cooled quinoa. Season again to taste with more salt as well as pepper. Serve immediately and refrigerate leftovers to let flavors further meld.

I shall be using this for lunch at work tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it!

Enjoy the recipe, if oyu would like to reach me feel free to email at LauralovingLife@hotmail.com

Bon appétit

LauralovingLife

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