Saturday, February 20, 2010

Quinoa and Apple Curry Salad


Quinoa is packed with protein and super versatile. This recipe is from Martha Stewart and is easy, refreshing, and delicious. I made it as a main course, but it'd be great with some sort of broiled white fish.

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup raw whole almonds
  • 1 cup white quinoa
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons dried currants
  • 1 small McIntosh apple (really, you need the McIntosh "tang" so I don't think a gala or a fuji would work quite as well), cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
  • 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread almonds on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop nuts. Don't skip this step. Toasting almonds makes them magical.
  2. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve; drain. (If quinoa isn't rinsed thoroughly, it'll be bitter. Most quinoa is "triple-rinsed" though, so you may not need to do this step). Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add quinoa; return to a boil. Stir quinoa; cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork; let cool.
  3. Whisk together honey, shallot, curry powder, salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with pepper. Whisking constantly, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream; whisk until dressing is emulsified. Add quinoa, currants, apple, mint, and nuts; toss well. Garnish with mint.

2 comments:

  1. I've definitely got to try this. The only time I tried to cook quinoa I guess I undercooked it, cuz it was really crunchy. I'll just have to learn to be more patient.

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  2. Made this for lunch today! Tastes awesome. I finally cooked my quinoa properly for the first time too :p

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