Recipe: Quinoa Adzuki Salad :: Easy Like a Sunday Morning

June 18, 2012 by Laureen Fox | 10 Comments

Easy Like a Sunday Morning, that’s how the recipes in my “Easy” category will be. Nothing rushed or frantic, nothing with a long list of ingredients. Something that is so easy, you don’t really need a recipe. Something that almost cooks itself or requires no cooking at all.

The other day, I had one serious craving for Quinoa Salad. The last Quinoa Salad I remembered eating, was when I made this Quinoa Toasted Corn and Bean Salad.

There was some ripe for eating produce in the fridge and a handful of grape tomatoes I wanted to use up. I didn’t feel like roasting the corn, grape tomatoes, beans and pepitas, as in my old recipe. I wanted something quicker. Something that I could toss together and serve up in a jiffy.

This beautiful, yummy salad was the result. In the time it took for the quinoa to cook and cool for a bit, I was able to chop the vegetables and assemble the dressing.

Recipe: Quinoa Adzuki Salad

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Summary: A yummy, quick, easy, good for you quinoa salad.

Ingredients

Salad:

1/2 Cup uncooked quinoa, well rinsed
1 Cup water
20 grape tomatoes, quartered
1/3 Cup fennel bulb, chopped
1/2 (14oz) can, about 3/4 Cup cooked Adzuki beans, drained and rinsed, or beans of choice
fresh romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

Dressing:

3 Tbsp olive oil or salad oil of choice
1 Tbsp unpasturized apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp prepared Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
fresh ground pepper and sea salt, to taste

Optional Garnish:

avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 Cup feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions

In a small pot, bring water to a boil. Add rinsed quinoa, cover and cook on medium heat for 12-15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, set aside to cool.
While quinoa is cooking and cooling, place rinsed beans in a medium size bowl. Add chopped tomatoes and fennel.
In a small bowl, assemble the dressing.
Once quinoa is cool, add it to the bowl with the bean mixture. Drizzle dressing over top, toss to blend. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, assemble lettuce leaves in the bottom of a serving plate or bowl. Top with the salad mix, garnish with avocado slices, cilantro and feta cheese if desired.