Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

• ¾ cup uncooked quinoa

• 1-2 cups shredded red cabbage

• 1 red bell pepper, diced

• ½ red onion, diced

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• ½ cup chopped cilantro

• ¼ cup diced green onions

• ½ cup cashew halves or peanuts(honey or dry roasted are good)

• Fresh lime, for a bit of tang

• For the dressing:

• ¼ cup all natural peanut butter

• 1 shallot, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)

• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
To make dressing: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, shallot, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. 
Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.

quin whaaaa??

I'm always on the look out for a tasty new salad.  It's nice to have a big batch on hand for lunches and dinners throughout the week. this particular quinoa salad is filled with herbs, veggies, lemon juice and vinegar. plus it's pretty versatile in terms of herbs and veggies that can be included, and the freshness of the lemon vinaigrette makes it perfect for spring and summer. i just learned that quinoa is a close relative of beets and spinach, part of the reason why it's so healthy.  it's also extra good for you because of its high levels of protein, amino acids, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. to top it all off, it's gluten-free. go quinoa.  

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1/2 cucumber, cubed

3 roma or on the vine tomatoes, cubed

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

1/3 cup italian parsely or cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup basil, chopped

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Rinse quinoa in cold water in a fine mesh colander and let drain well. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and bring to a full rolling boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer; simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let the quinoa slowly finish for another 10 minutes. Cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dice cucumber. Dice the tomatoes. Thinly slice green onions. Chop fresh mint,  chop cilantro or parsley and basil. In a bowl mix together lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil.

When the quinoa has cooled, toss with cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, herbs and dressing.