Mexican Red Quinoa Salad

Loaded with flavor, crunch, tang, zip and zest, this Mexican salad is bursting with yummy goodness. Give yourself plenty of time to do the prep for this one.  I can assure you, it is well worth the effort.

My dear sister-in-law, Esther, has been a vegetarian ever since I have known her. She is a great cook and shared a Mediterranean Quinoa Salad that my husband and I ate into the ground (yes, I will be sharing my version of this salad later). It is incredibly tasty and healthy, but I decided to try my hand at a Mexican version, to give our tastebuds a bit of a break from such a tried and true dish.

The Mexican version has evolved several times since I first made it. Each time, we think of a new ingredient to include, and it always turns out just a bit better than the last time we ate it. This is the type of salad that one plate turns to two, then before you know it, you are on your third plate and forcing yourself to walk away from the table.

This recipe makes a huge batch.   It holds in the refrigerator for several days making it ideal lunchbox food.  It can be beautifully presented on a large white platter and makes an impressive buffet addition. You can easily make this salad for four or twenty by increasing all of the ingredients. Listening to the oohs and ahhs around the table will make you feel like a culinary genius!

Mexican Red Quinoa Salad

1 cup red quinoa
2 cups water
1 bunch watercress, rinsed and all the leaves pulled from the stem
2-3 cups cabbage, shredded (buy the pre-shredded bag)
2-3 cups carrots, shredded (buy the pre-shredded bag)
1 bunch cilantro, washed and all the leaves pulled from the stem
1 small bag frozen, organic, sweet white corn
1/2-1 diced red pepper
1/2 diced jicama
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2-1 red onion, diced
3-5 green onions, diced, both white and green parts
1 cucumber, diced, leave skin on for extra nutrients, either Traditional or English work fine
1 bunch radishes, sliced and quartered
1 bag cooked, black beluga lentils from Trader Joes OR 1 can drained and rinsed black beans
2-4 limes, lemons or combo, juiced
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
avocado slices for garnish
tortilla chips for garnish

Additions per your taste: For those that like a punch, dice a seeded jalapeno pepper or add one teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the dressing.

Cook quinoa in water until done.  Add all the ingredients to a big bowl.  Mix olive oil, lime, cumin and minced garlic. Pour over salad and toss well. Taste and adjust lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Garnish with slices of avocado and/or high quality tortilla chips.

Note: Where recipe calls for 1/2-1 of some ingredient, feel free to judge based on the size of the produce on hand, how much to use. If I get a huge red bell pepper, 1/2 may be enough.  If it is small, I may use the whole thing.  Accordingly, if I am making the salad for a buffet, I will add two whole red bell peppers and increase the rest of the ingredients as well.  It is a pretty full proof recipe.

For a nice luncheon, make a big pitcher of iced, mint tea with lemon slices and serve with homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies (recipe for these amazing cookies will appear soon.) Bon Apetit!

A note about quinoa as stated on the Pearl Quinoa Alter Eco Fair Trade bag," Alter Eco Quinoa is an ancient grain that has been cultivated in the Andes Mountains of South America for more than 5,000 years.  Locally referred to as the "mother grain" and as a "protein powerhouse," it kept the Incan armies strong and robust."

I am embarassed to say that only three of us sat down to lunch and ate almost the ENTIRE salad in one sitting! YUMMY!