Aiden describes his version of the Crispy Quinoa Salad as a crowd pleaser. My version was exactly the same, so much so, that my friend asked for the recipe and made it the next day!
Head straight on to the Recipe For ♥ Crispy Quinoa Salad ♥
Let’s talk about Quinoa
Quinoa is an edible seed that was originally used to feed livestock. About 4000 years ago, in the Lake Titicaca basin, human consumption of quinoa was recorded. It is high in dietary fiber, B vitamins and dietary minerals as well as a great source of protein. This naturally gluten free seed is boiled before eating, and to me, the best way to do so is by using stock. The increased popularity of quinoa took it from a small scale crop in South America to increased worldwide production. The result was increased prices, making what was a cheap grain alternative too expensive for the traditional consumers. It also had a negative impact on the farmers as well as affecting food security in some communities. Quinoa can be used as a substitute for leavened grains which is useful for Jewish communities during Passover.
Recipe testing and blessings
At the end of August I went to Johannesburg for the launch of a recipe book. Neilwe, who works for Penguin Random House, was at the event. I was so glad to meet her in person as I only know her from the emails we exchange. I feel so blessed to receive recipe books to review. Part of the process for me is testing recipes. Because I am so bad at reading them before I start, and I loathe mise-en-place, I did not realize that the recipe for crispy quinoa salad would only use 1 tablespoon of the quinoa I had cooked. This was the very last instruction of the recipe, and when I got to it I decided to adapt the recipe and make what I am sharing with you today.
Take a look at this inspiring recipe for ♥ Crispy Quinoa Salad ♥ from Lavender and Lime #LavenderAndLime Share on X
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
Crispy Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
for the quinoa:
- 500 mls water
- 195 g quinoa
- 5 mls fine salt
for the pico de gallo:
- 10 mls olive oil (only if you are cooking the onion)
- 1 red onion, peeled, cut in half and finely chopped *
- 20 g fresh coriander, chopped
- 4 roma tomatoes, quartered, deseeded and diced
- 2 jalapeño chillies, cut in half, trimmed, deseeded and finely chopped
- 20 mls canola oil
- 2 limes, juice only
- 0.625 mls fine salt
for the salad:
- 30 mls olive oil
- 10 mls fine salt
- 250 mls pico de gallo **
- 240 g tinned red kidney beans, drained weight
- 1 ear corn, grilled and kernels removed
- 1 avocado, peeled, pip removed, and cut into chunks
for the dressing:
- 125 mls freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 60 mls water
- 55 g honey
- 10 mls Japanese 7 spice blend
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 10 g fresh coriander, chopped
- salt to season
Method
for the quinoa:
- Place the water, quinoa and salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil over a high temperature
- Place the lid on the pan, turn off the heat and leave to steam until cooked
for the pico de gallo:
- Place the oil into a small, non stick frying pan and heat over a medium temperature
- Add the onions, reduce the temperature and cook until soft
- Tip into a bowl with the coriander, tomatoes and jalapeños
- Add the oil, lime juice and salt and stir to combine
- Check for seasoning and set aside
for the salad:
- Preheat the oven to 190° Celsius
- Add the olive oil and salt to the cooked quinoa and stir to coat the quinoa
- Tip out onto a lined baking tray and spread evenly
- Place into the oven and bake for 35 minutes, stirring the quinoa every 10 minutes
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool while you make the dressing
for the dressing:
- Place the lemon juice, water, honey, spice blend and garlic into a small bowl and whisk to combine
- Add the coriander and salt, mix and adjust the seasoning if necessary
putting it all together:
- Place the quinoa in a serving bowl and add the pico de gallo, beans and corn
- Pour in the salad dressing and stir to combine
- Add the avocado and gently mix in
- Serve straight away or keep covered in the fridge until needed
Notes
** use the rest of the pico de gallo for tacos or refrigerate to use for cooking
See the links below for blog posts I published on October 24:
- 2023: Linguine Alla Vongole
- 2022: Beef Fat Hollandaise
- 2021: Not A Happy Family
- 2018: Jan, The Journal
- 2016: Pomegranate And Gingerade
- 2014: Friday 24 September 2014 | Out And About
- 2013: Nonya Pot Braised Chicken
- 2012: Simple And Delicious, Alida Ryder
- 2011: RIP Marco Simoncelli
Great recipe
Thanks!
this sounds good Tandy. Wow i can’t believe the original recipe only had 1 Tbs of quinoa. Doesn’t sound like enough, does it?
sherry
It really would not have been enough 🙂
I like this recipe. What makes it crispy tho?
Drying out the quinoa makes the quinoa crispy 🙂
Hi Tandy, this sounds like a great salad.
thanks, I make a version of this quite often 🙂
Using 1 tablespoon of the quinoa and it’s called crispy quinoa in the book? I am glad that you adapted the recipe and added your own ideas. It looks great!
Thanks, I also thought that the recipe name did not live up to what it was 😉
Loving ALL the ingredients in this tasty and healthy salad.
Thank you Belvinder 🙂
What a unique way to cook quinoa & need to try it! And the salad looks and sounds also great.
Hope you enjoy it when and if you make it 🙂
Tandy,
I love all the interesting spices in this quinoa recipe. I do like quinoa and make it occasionally but we tend to gravitate to rice for some reason. I’ll bet I could make it using rice as well.
Let me know if you try this with rice 🙂