Southwestern Quinoa Salad

This recipe was sent to us by Karen, one of our blog followers who’s based in Singapore. First, thanks, Karen! Second, we don’t know why it’s called Southwestern – it has a South American vibe to it so maybe that’s where it’s from. Third, we do know that it’s delicious. We made a version for ourselves substituting kidney beans (which we had) for the black beans (which obviously we didn’t). It tastes light and fresh but provides plenty of protein and a good dose of Vitamin C to help you absorb the iron from the grains.

Here’s what Karen has to say about the recipe:
‘This is a recipe I discovered last year when my Canadian partner gave me a quinoa cookery book. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein. The recipe is taken from ‘Quinoa 365’ by Carolyn Hemming and Patricia Green, Whitecap Books. I have prepared this for Charity Cafés and post-exam ‘makan’ (a form of pot luck dinner) and it always disappears very quickly!’

Southwestern Quinoa Salad
Serves 4-6 

Ingredients

2 cups (500 ml) water
1 cup (250 ml) diced tomato
1 cup (250 ml) quinoa
1 cup (250 ml) cooked black beans
¾ cup (185 ml) prepared salsa (hot or medium)
½ cup (125 ml) corn kernels
¼ tsp (1 ml) chili powder
½ cup (125 ml) plain yogurt
¼ tsp (1 ml) ground coriander
1 tsp (5 ml) fresh lime juice
¼ tsp (1 ml) ground cumin
1 cup (250 ml) shredded aged cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp (15 ml) finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, sliced

Method
1 Bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 6 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

2 Add the salsa, chili powder, ground coriander and cumin to the quinoa and mix well. Mix the cilantro, tomato, beans and corn, stirring until all the ingredients are evenly blended.

3 In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and lime juice. Spoon the quinoa mixture into individual serving dishes or one large one. Top with the shredded cheddar cheese and a generous spoonful of the lime yogurt (individual bowls) or all (one large bowl).  Garnish with avocado slices.

About Karen (@KayD53):
I was born in England, but now live in Singapore, where I teach Economics to pre-university students. I am Buddhist and that is the main reason why I am vegetarian – no fish or meat, but I do eat dairy! I love cooking vegetarian dishes and it was my partner, Gordon, who introduced me to quinoa and bought me the wonderful recipe book which has this recipe in it.