Saturday, April 24, 2010

quinoa lunch salad

I'm trying to eat more quinoa, so I incorporated it into a greek salad takeoff that I made the other day. Mahesh loved it, and I want to remember the recipe, so here it is:

-- 1 c. dried quinoa, cooked (probably about 3 cups cooked)
-- 1 can garbanzos (or 2 cups cooked from dried)
-- 2 1/2 tomatoes, chopped (roughly 2 cups)
-- 1.5 cups chopped cucumber, I use the small crisp ones -- 7 of them
-- 4 Tablespoons minced onion, or one bunch spring onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
-- 4 Tablespoons minced parsley
-- 1/2 cup olives, pitted and roughly chopped
-- 3/4 cup feta cheese, cubed into small cubes
-- salt and pepper
-- the juice of one lemon
-- spicy pepper sauce (like Tobasco) to taste (optional)
-- 2 teaspoons flax seed oil (optional, to increase Omega 3 content)

To cook garbanzos from dried, soak 1 cup dried beans in water for 8 hours or overnight, then cook in pressure cooker for 7 or 8 whistles. Let the pressure drop naturally, and you have the most delicious garbanzo beans on the planet.

To cook the quinoa, put 1 cup dried in a pot with 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring ocassionally. Keep an eye on it at the end to make sure it doesn't run out of water and burn.

Mix everything together in a bowl, and chill. It's better if you can let it sit until the next day (although I rarely can). A complete protein and iron-packed meal, easy to take for lunches.

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