This lovely salad found on food.com, originally called for couscous, but I wanted to use the high protein option of quinoa instead. Super flavorful and we’ll definitely make again!
Quinoa and black bean salad
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked couscous (we used quinoa)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (water)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (none)
2 tablespoons lime juice (4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped (3 onions)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (variety of yellow, red and orange)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained (1 can)
Salt and pepper to taste (very little salt)
Additional ingredients:
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 roma tomatoes, small dice
Directions… what we actually did:
Bring 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa to boil. Cover and simmer until water gone – about 11 minutes. Uncover, fluff with fork and remove from heat for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, vinegar, cayenne and cumin.
Add green onions, peppers, cilantro, corn and beans, tomatoesand toss to coat.
Add the quinoa to vegetables and mix well.
Add salt and black pepper to taste. Eat immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serving size:
We didn’t have any other dish with this, so we ate it all. By the end of dish, we felt really full but satisfied with taste and full stomachs!
Next time:
- Add other veggies, like blanched green beans, chopped snow peas.
- Try other beans, like kidney, pinto, or garbonzo beans.
- Remove onion and add diced mango for sweetness with the spice.
- Serve in lettuce wrap style.