Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad

I used to think quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) was a rather strange ingredient. And I vowed to never post recipes on this blog that call for strange ingredients. But it seems as though quinoa is becoming more commonplace, and I am certain some of you have a bag of it sitting in your pantry and don’t know what to do with it. I admittedly let our first bag of quinoa just chill for about six months before I worked up enough courage to try something so unusual and different. It’s funny how new ingredients can do that to us.

Long story short quinoa is very similar to couscous. You can eat it plain or add all sorts of seasonings and other fresh flavors to it. And we happen to think this recipe below is a real crowd pleaser. It can be eaten as a side with your lunch or dinner or brought along as the perfect addition to a potluck gathering. We also brought this salad camping the other weekend, and it would work great at an outdoor cookout as well. Trust me – you can’t go wrong so just make it, and I promise it will be gone in no time!

Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad (pronounced keen-wah)

Course: Main Course, Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Adapted from Joy of Cooking

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Ingredients

Salad

• 3 cups quinoa cooked (or 1 cup dry)
• ¾ cup dried fruit (we used raisins, golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, and dried currants)
• ¼ cup pine nuts toasted
• ¼ cup cilantro chopped
• 1 bell pepper diced (any color)

Dressing

• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

1. Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.
   Can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge.