Quinoa (Keen-wah) Salad with Tomatoes, Feta + Fresh Herbs

Quinoa is perfect if you’ve got a kid who needs to eat gluten free. It’s now available at most grocery stores. Look for the organic, yellow one (it has a mild nutty flavour…without the nuts). This is a super easy recipe and you can pretty much add anything you like.  It has a light lemony flavour and can be served at room temperature or cold.

I’m not a nutritionist but in case you are interested I did find some nutrition facts for quinoa.

You will need:

1 c. Quinoa
1 1/2 c. water
1/2 tsp salt
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 container of grape tomatoes cut in half (or 1 c. any kind chopped will do…except those horrible hard light orange ones…just don’t…please)
1/2 c chopped or crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds if pine nuts are too outrageous for your budget
Handful of fresh basil leaves cut in chiffonade (wash, spin, stack, roll like a cigar, cut in fine strips cross grain)
8-10 fresh mint leaves chopped fine (optional)
Handful of chopped Italian parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash quinoa in cold running water in a fine mesh sieve (I count to 60). This removes the bitter taste so don’t skip this step.
2. Bring water to a boil in a small pot.
3. Add quinoa and salt and return to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove from heat (keep covered) and let stand for 5 minutes. Strain off excess liquid (if any) and spread in a shallow dish to cool.
4. While quinoa is cooling zest and juice the lemon into a small bowl and whisk with olive oil to make a dressing. Chop tomatoes, feta, and herbs and put them in a serving dish.
5. Add cooled quinoa, dressing and toss gently. You can eat this right away or let it stand.
6. Refrigerate leftovers (if you have any).

Serves 4 as a meal or 6 as a side. This is a good one to pack as it doesn’t need to be refrigerated.