Quinoa Salad #1

           Quinoa Salad with black beans, avocado, and cumin-lime dressing 

           (adapted from Eating for England)

I'm assuming I'll be making many more quinoa salads in the near future and decided to label this post Quinoa #1. My early post on Quinoa Chili was a huge hit so I thought I'd show you another creative way quinoa can be used.

I really enjoyed this salad. It's very fresh, healthy, and filling. You get quite a bit of protein from the quinoa and the black beans. You can serve this as a side item, or fill a big bowl and chow down (what I did!)

Servings: about 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed (make sure to rinse it!)
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 3/4 cups of water
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small clove of garlic, minced
• handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

For the dressing:

• 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• juice of 1 lime
• salt, to taste
  
  

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, on medium-high heat. Add the quinoa, stir, and toast it for 2-3 minutes, or until you smell a nutty flavor coming from the quinoa.

Add water and simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While quinoa is cooking, prepare the dressing for your salad. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop your fresh ingredients while the quinoa is cooking.

When the quinoa is done cooking, fluff it with a spoon or fork, and add the rinsed black beans. Stir, and let cool for 5 minutes or so.

Transfer the quinoa and black bean mixture to a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss generously. Add the rest of the fresh ingredients to the salad, toss lightly, and enjoy!