Snig's quinoa salad

This salad is an attempt to recreate a dish Him Indoors (my inimitable hubby) ordered in the Loire Valley in France. There, it was called a "Quinoa Tabbouleh". However, since it doesn't use bulgur wheat or couscous and has no parsley in it, it isn't a true Tabbouleh, which is why I won't use the name. 

I have used a combination of red and white quinoa here, because the small amount of red gives a nuttiness and bite which makes the dish a little bit more interesting. Don't overcook the white quinoa or it will become too soft. 

There's a lot of chopping to be done to prepare for this salad, for which I apologise. But the courgette goes in raw, so it has to be cut up small. Raw chunks of courgette wouldn't taste as good. 

This dish could be served as a vegetarian (vegan) meal-in-a-bowl salad. Or you could put the dressing in a little jar and take the salad to work, dressing at the last minute. Or, as we did, you could have it as an accompaniment to steamed king prawns with a small side dish of salad leaf. 

Snig's Quinoa Salad

(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

Salad:

80g white quinoa

1tbsp Red quinoa

1/4 Cucumber, peeled, deseeded and chopped into 5mm dice

1/2 Courgette, peeled and chopped into 5mm dice

1/2 Sweetcorn, niblets sheared from the cob

1/4 mug frozen petit pois

1/3 mug frozen edemame beans (without pods)

5 cherry tomatoes (or baby plum tomatoes), deseeded and chopped into 5mm dice

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh Coriander leaf (optional)

Dressing: 

3 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp White wine vinegar

Salt (freshly ground sea salt)

Pepper (freshly ground black pepper)

1 teaspoon Mustard

Method:

1. Prepare the chopped vegetables as set out above and set aside. 
2. Rinse the uncooked, dried quinoa to wash it. 
3. Put in a saucepan with ample unsalted water to more than cover it, bring to the boil, then simmer for 12-13 minutes. When the little spirals begin come out of the white quinoa seeds, you know they are done. 
4. Drain using a sieve, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain again, leaving the quinoa hanging in the sieve to allow all excess water to drain away.
5. Put a small saucepan on the hob, filled with water. Bring to the boil. Then add the corn, setting a timer for 6-7 minutes. When there are 3 minutes left, add the Edamame. When there is 1 minute left, add the Petit pois. 
6. Drain, rinse with cold water to stop the vegetables cooking. Drain again. If there is excess water, give it a spin in a salad spinner. 
7. Put the cooked vegetables in a non-metallic bowl. Add the tomatoes and optional coriander and mix well. Add the quinoa and mix well. 
8. Whisk up the dressing ingredients in a mug, seasoning to taste. 
9. Dress the salad and mix thoroughly only when you are ready to serve up.
10. Serve up and eat immediately before the dressing "burns" the coriander.