Last week, I published a recipe for a quinoa roasted veggie bowl for Meatless Monday. In the description of the recipe, I mentioned that the recipe I found online yielded a whole lot more quinoa than was needed for the bowls. The excess quinoa from that recipe was more than enough for another few meals, so I searched my cookbooks for another recipe that would accommodate all that extra grain. This tasty, well-balanced, protein-rich recipe is what I settled on.
My partner and I enjoyed three meals from this salad. Unlike pasta salads, where the pasta soaks up the dressing, resulting in a bland salad the next day, this one tasted even better on the second and third days.
This recipe came from Oh She Glows Every Day by Angela Liddon. I’ve made a few of her recipes now, and they’ve all been excellent. The recipes are pretty simple, but Liddon seems to have a knack for making even simple recipes special.
I often make substitutions and changes to recipes, but in this one, the only change I made was to use brown rice syrup instead of maple syrup in the dressing. Brown rice syrup has a lower glycemic index than maple syrup. It’s less sweet than maple syrup, and is definitely missing that wonderful maple flavor, but I wanted to use something that would be a little easier on my blood sugar.
This salad tastes great at room temperature, making it a perfect for potlucks and picnics.
Meatless Monday: Protein Power Quinoa Salad
Salad:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 can (14 oz) garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed
3 cups chopped kale
3 medium carrots, diced (I used multicolored carrots for fun.)
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp pure maple syrup (I used brown rice syrup)
2 tsp lemon zest
Toppings: salt & pepper to taste
6 Tbsp toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 Tbsp hemp hearts
1. Combine quinoa & water in pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer 12-15 minutes. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, mustard and garlic. Slowly whisk in oil, then stir in syrup and lemon zest.
3. Place cooled quinoa in large bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients & vinaigrette, and toss together to combine. Season with salt & pepper; serve with toppings.