I thought this sounded great for lunch, but I think I would need to jazz it up a bit adding some salsa. I got this from http://www.summertomato.com
Mexican-style Quinoa Salad
(serves 2-3)
Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
Half bag of arugula or baby spinach
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 spring onion or shallot
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, stems removed
Cayenne pepper
Lime
Tapatio or favorite Mexican hot sauce
Rinse and cook quinoa. Crush and mince your garlic. While your quinoa is boiling, halve your tomatoes and dice your onion and pepper. If using a spring onion, save some of the green onion slices for garnish. Remove the stems from your cilantro. Dice your avocado and sprinkle it with salt.
When your quinoa is finished cooking, heat a frying pan on medium high heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add onions and red peppers and cook on medium high heat until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off heat and add quinoa, stirring to mix. Fold in arugula or spinach and season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.
Transfer quinoa mixture to a large serving bowl and add avocado, tomatoes and cilantro. Squeeze in juice of half a lime and add a few dashes of Tapatio or Tabasco to taste. Gently stir, being careful not to mash the avocado chunks.
Adjust salt and spices. Garnish with green onion slices, extra cilantro leaves and a wedge of lime.
