Quinoa Salad with Strawberries, Cashews, Feta and Mint
Well, the snow has finally arrived to Toronto. Now, I understand that there are plenty of places in both Canada and the States that have had plenty of snow, but the white flakes have not fallen in T.O. up to today. It is not much of a snowfall though and I do not expect it to stay on the ground. Either way, the kids were excited going to school this morning knowing that snow, in any amount, was coming! I, on the other hand, am not excited.
I love Christmas season and am always eager to get the tree and other decorations up. I love watching Christmas movies (Christmas Vacation anyone??). I know that snow is important for many people during the holiday season, but I could go along fine without it.
I am excited to share today’s recipe with you. As much as I enjoyed baking over the past month and posting some classic cookie and square recipes, I was looking forward to the freedom of posting dishes other than sweets. Today I have a recipe that uses quinoa.
A couple months ago I posted a recipe for roast chicken with quinoa stuffing. This recipe uses quinoa in a salad. The more I cook with and eat quinoa, the more I like it. It is simple to cook quinoa and seems to have great versatility.
Toast the cashews before chopping them to enhance their flavour.
This salad is light and fresh with the strawberries and mint but earthy with the quinoa. The feta provides a salty rich flavour and the cashews give a nutty texture.
Quinoa Salad with Strawberries, Cashews, Feta and Mint
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cup cashews chopped
- 3 cups strawberries quartered
- 1/4 cup fresh mint thinly sliced
- 1 cup feta crumbled
- 1/3 cup white grape juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 10 mint leaves
Instructions
- In a pot, bring the water to a boil. Dump in the quinoa, cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the quinoa rest for 5 more minutes. Run the quinoa under cold water to rinse it then let it drain.
- Make the dressing by adding the juice, oil, honey and mint leaves to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Assemble the salad by adding all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the salad dressing. Serve cold.