Summer Quinoa Salad
August 24, 2020 • Beans & Grains, Cooking for One (or Two), Salads
Summer is the perfect time for salads. They are cool and refreshing and usually are pulled together without heating up your kitchen too much. This one takes advantage of fresh herbs that are in season and pairs cucumbers and tomatoes with quinoa. You can easily add some leftover shredded chicken if you’d like, but there is already plenty of protein in the quinoa. My better half doesn’t love acidic foods, so I used lemon zest instead of juice to get a nice lemon flavor without the harsh acidity of the juice, but you can also squeeze a little juice into the mix if you’d like.
- ½ cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package directions
- 1 small cucumber, seeded if desired, and chopped
- 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Combine the quinoa with the cucumber, tomato, scallions, mint, lemon zest and olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.