Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Veganized's Note:

Very tasty side dish - especially for barbecues! (It can be made a day ahead) - To make it a complete vegan meal, just add chickpeas or baked/grilled tofu chunks. Serve with (vegan)tzatziki.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 cup quinoa or 1 cup bulgur
• 2 cups water

Marinade

• 4 tablespoons orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 -2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or 1 -2 tablespoon wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaf

Vegetables

• 1/3 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomato
• 2 red onions, finely chopped or 8 -10 green onions, chopped
• 1 lb cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 6 ounces black olives, sliced
• 3/4 cup pine nuts (toasted)

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa in a strainer under running water and drain.
2. Bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and let it simmer for 10-15 minute (until water is absorbed and quinoa is translucent)
3. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile prepare vegetables.
4. Combine ingredients for the marinade, pour over cooled quinoa and stir to mix.
5. Add herbs and vegetables. Stir again. Sprinkle with pine nuts.
6. Cover and refrigerate 2-6 hours or more. (Serve at room temperature).

Reviews

[Wish I Could Cook]

What a keeper of a salad! It got rave reviews from my guests. And considering how easy it was to make I'm going to do lots of repeats. I used a mixture of mostly red quinoa and it was so pretty with the cherry tomatoes mixture. I highly recommend that just for the striking visual it makes.

[Snowpeas]

Very nice salad. I didn't use any sugar, and the dressing was still wonderful! I only had 1/4 of a large red onion on hand, and that was plenty - and I really love onions - but this red one was a strong one... Definitely a keeper and I will be making it again and again. Healthy and delicious, what could be a better combination?

[Camden's Mom]

This is a very nice recipe. I made it using what I had in the house, so made a few substitutions, but kept the spirit of the dish the same. I used red quinoa, 1/2 a sweet onion, diced very fine, 2 Roma tomatoes (instead of the sun-dried), kalamata olives, lime juice (instead of orange) and added a bit of feta cheese at the end. I will have to try it 'as written' sometime, as it sounds wonderful, too, but it's always nice to know that you can switch things up a bit and still come out with something special!