Family Quinoa Salad

I called this recipe Family Quinoa Salad because it was made for my family at a very surreal kind of re-union so it was bitter sweet so to speak. Not the salad! The salad was amazing and thoroughly enjoyed by all especially my brother who sent me a message saying I don't particularly like salad "it's not my thing :)" but I have to say I loved it❤️

Very often in life we tend to try so hard to not mix business with pleasure and rightfully so. However, I find that sometimes the reality of a situation doesn't only call for it, it demands it. So this past weekend I had my brother and his wife over for a late lunch. You may be wondering and so what - that's normal. Well, not so much for me. It's been a number of years since that happened so this reunion was bitter sweet. Bitter for the time we didn't do it and sweet for the privilege of now.

I asked, "would a braai be okay because we are thinking of a braai' and he responded saying "oh, I was really hoping that I could taste your hand" as in I want to taste your food. I immediately responded with absolutely! At the time, I had no idea what I was going to make because my husband had already prepared for the braai. I sat there wondering what to make, the lunch was the next day!

My husband being my best and worst critic said something that he will never know how much it meant to me because my mind was already so clouded. He said make something that's new and different to him. 

This family quinoa salad was born, a pork roast and potatoes (not new to him at all 🙂 and a wonderful dessert of which I am still to share the recipe with you.

FAMILY QUINOA SALAD

So this salad is fresh, crisp and the best part is the texture and the light salad dressing. In saying that, you can use whatever your favorite dressing is but in this particular type of salad the lighter dressings seems to work much better.

Choosing to leave a slice of lemon in the dressing was definitely the anosmic side of me coming out because I find that the lemon juice alone, simply gets lost in the dressing. This way, I can prolong the lemon taste as it slowly seeps into the dressing. Besides, I think it looks rather pretty too.

I posted how to make fluffy quinoa every time a while back this year and even in that post I was hopelessly in love with quinoa.  It makes such a fantastic side dish and a salad such as this one.

It's simple, light, satisfying and delicious and comes together with just about anything that you have in the fridge. I have added everything that we had in the fridge even the blueberries!  I know at most times I have to stop myself because I almost added strawberries too. This Family Quinoa Salad is the result of peppers, onion, chickpeas, cucumber, some feta cheese, flat leaf Italian parsley and yes blueberries. 

Please let me know how this recipe turns out if you do decide to make it!  Leave me a comment below!

Looking for more light and fresh salads?

• Best Simple Tossed Citrus Salad
• Simple Crunchy Kale Salad, Chickpeas and Fresh Lemon
• Kale Salad With Quinoa, Beans & Celery Stalks and Leaves
• Crispy Fried Tofu, Kale and Black Rice Salad with A Creamy Yogurt Dressing

Quinoa Salad

Miranda | My Anosmic Kitchen

This gorgeous Quinoa Salad features an abundance of color, texture and taste through the many delicious and crunchy layers created!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup fluffy cooked quinoa 1 to 1 ½ cups
• ▢ 1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas
• ▢ 1 small red onion diced
• ▢ 1 pepper 1 red, 1 yellow and use half of each for color diversity
• ▢ ¼ cucumber diced
• ▢ flat Italian leaf parsley
• ▢ feta cheese cut into bite size pieces
• ▢ blueberries rinsed and left to drain.

SALAD DRESSING

• ▢ 1 to 2 fresh lemons - juiced and pips removed.
• ▢ ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 3 tbsps red wine vinegar or a light white wine vinegar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt Himalayan Pink salt
• ▢ cracked black pepper and a little coarse black pepper if you don't mind the bite otherwise stick to simple cracked black pepper. or put black peppercorns in a blender to just break the kernels down a little then you have a roughly textured black pepper mix!
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb or dried oregano
• ▢ a few leaves of fresh mint into the salad before serving if you have any are also good.

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Instructions 

• Add all the salad dressing ingredients into a server/jug, mix, taste and adjust accordingly. Set aside or leave in the fridge while you prepare the salad. Don't add the slice of lemon or any black pepper (if using any) now because that can be added just before serving.
• Prep all your veggies. Rinse the peppers and cut in half. Deseed and discard the green leafy top. Cut the peppers into bite sized pieces trying to make them more or less the same size. Remember the peppers and cucumber should be about the same size. Dice the red onion. Set aside. Rinse and cut the cucumber lengthwise and then into cubes. They should be about the same size as the peppers - again it doesn't have to be accurate just so that they are more presentable this way and easier to eat. Pour the chickpeas into a colander and rinse under a running tap. Remove any loose peels that might be floating around the chickpeas.
• Combine the salad ingredientsIn a large serving bowl start by adding the quinoa followed by the chickpeas and give those a mix using a fork. Add the rest of the salad ingredients finishing with the feta cheese and blackberries. Remove the dressing a few minutes before serving from the fridge. Add your salt, coarse black pepper, and black pepper kernels if using. Even just a few whole ones are good. Drop in your full lemon slice on top. Serve with your salad and add a couple leaves of fresh mint into the salad if you prefer and if you have any.
• TIPPour over your salad only when you are about to serve for optimal freshness. Always start by adding the heavier ingredients into the bowl first like in this recipe - add the quinoa and chickpeas first so they don't press down on the cucumber. Add the cucumber, onions and peppers next. One gently mix and then finish off with the cheese, berries and herbs. Never over mix the salad, work with it not against it. Salad dressing can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days and re-used. Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard for a kick 🙂

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