Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

I haven't had quinoa in a while and seeing my depleting stock of vegetables, I made a big pot of quinoa with green beans, cauliflower and red and green peppers, flavored with sumac, sage, and black pepper. I did pop the beans and the cauliflower in boiling water for a minute or two. I did taste the beans raw and they tasted awful and the vegetable vendor explicitly said they can't be had raw. 

Cauliflower, Green Beans, Peppers and Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups of chopped green beans
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 green pepper/chilli
• 1 red pepper
• 2 leaves of sage
• 12-15 black pepper corns
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sumac powder

To make:

• Chop up your vegetables.
• Cook your quinoa in 2-2.5 cups of water for 15 minutes, along with the sage leaves and sumac powder.
• In a pot of boiling water, cook your beans and cauliflower for 2 minutes. Drain into a pot of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
• Add the vegetables to the qninoa and mix well.
• Season with freshly ground black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The Quinolicious Salad

Quinoa is such an easy grain to work with – no pre-soaking required and gets done in 15 minutes flat. Additionally, for your scant effort, you are rewarded with 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber for every cup of quinoa – more than double of most other grains.

This salad is a wholesome lunch that keeps well all day. You can have it heated or at normal temperature. And best of all, I got an excuse to use my newly prepared sun dried tomatoes.

Quinoa Salad with Sundried Tomatoes, Peppers, Carrots, and Olives

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 5-7 slivers of sundried tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 carrot
• Handful of chopped black olives
• Pinch of turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon of chilli/paprika powder
• 10-15 black pepper corns
• Teaspoon of cumin
• Handful of mint leaves
• Dash of olive oil

To make:
Cook the quinoa in 2.5 cups of water in a pot. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and mint leaves.

Bash up the pepper corns and the cumin seeds. Add that to the quinoa. Let it cool.

Chop the pepper and carrot.

Once the quinoa is cooled down (so as not to cook and ruin the color of the veggies), add the veggies along with the sundried tomatoes.Add a splash of olive oil on top and toss well. 

Lemony Quinoa and Pea Pilaf

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-waah) has been on my must-try wish list since the time I embarked on this vegan/raw journey. Its supposed to be this super grain with tons of protein - and that is something most non-meat eating folks desperately need. So, I bought a rather expensive jar of imported and organic Bolivian quinoa from the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago.

But, I was unsure how its supposed to taste and how its supposed to be cooked or best served with. So, after getting my queries resolved on Foodista, and on a rather chilly night, I had a go at this. You're supposed to use quinoa in any dish that calls for bulgar wheat or rice. And it can be served sweet or savoury.

Lemony Quinoa and Pea Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of quinoa
• 1/2 cup of peas
• 1 lime
• 1 spring onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1-2 cloves of fresh green garlic (along with the green stem)
• Coriander to garnish
• 5-10 black pepper corns

To make:
In a pot, put about 1.5 cups (twice as much as the quinoa) of water, and the quinoa and boil for 10-15 minutes. I had only frozen peas, and so added them in as well - which was a mistake, coz the peas have lost their right green color, this way. I'd add the peas in last along with the other veggies, the next time.

Add the juice of half a lime and the curry powder when the pot first comes to a boil. Mix well.

Chop the tomatoes, spring onion and garlic.

Turn off the heat after 15 minutes max. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the veggies. Mix well.

Add the black pepper powder and coriander to garnish along with the remaining lime juice.

It tasted really good and I will definitely be cooking a lot more with quinoa in the future!

What I Want Now: Quinoa Pomagranate Salad

I'm soo trying this salad as I have just got my hands on some organic pomagranate and quinoa from Bolivia! Image and recipe courtesy Ooh-Look.

Those little ruby pellets sure perk up a dull looking salad!