Quinoa Salad with Avocado and Broccoli

Quinoa Salad

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With healthy eating so popular, plenty of simple, light vegetable salads with added seeds and grains have turned up on our table. Lately quinoa salad has become especially common. You can buy the seeds in big supermarkets – they come in many colors and catch the eye. They are, by the way, excellent in salads.

I read somewhere that quinoa is one of the oldest grain crops, among the most prized by the Incas and Aztecs of the New World. It grows on the mountain slopes of the South American Andes. The Indians called it the “golden grain” and ranked it with potatoes and corn in importance. In the Old World, the first mentions of the seeds date from the 16th century.

Vegetables are usually low in protein, and adding seeds makes up for it. That is how a quinoa salad becomes a well-balanced dish: some varieties contain up to a quarter protein, close to milk protein, along with most of the known amino acids. And, which matters to many people, quinoa is gluten-free and is often used for baking bread.

Quinoa salad is a mix of whatever green vegetables and fragrant herbs you have, cucumbers, tomatoes, practically any vegetables available at that time of year, with cooked seeds added. Cooked quinoa resembles unpolished rice. It goes easily with vegetables and suits soups and even side dishes.

The seeds cook quickly – only 5-10 minutes depending on the variety. You can buy seeds of any color, from white to black, or a mixed blend.

For a tasty and good-looking salad, take fresh lettuce or romaine leaves, as for Caesar salad. Be sure to add herbs – parsley, cilantro, maybe green onion. Cool the cooked seeds and drain off the water. Any fresh, juicy vegetables will work well. If you can, include some vegetables cooked al dente – cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, broccoli, baby carrots, green beans and even peas. Dress this salad with the best-quality olive oil.

14 ingredientsTo the recipe
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Ingredients

2 servings

  • Quinoa 0.5 cup
    (85 g)
  • Romaine or lettuce 1 bunch
  • Fresh cucumber 1
  • Avocado 1
  • Green onion 2-3 stalks
  • Parsley, cilantro 0.5 bunch
  • Cherry tomatoes 6-8
  • Broccoli 1 head
  • Chili pepper, sesame seeds optional
  • Olive oil for the dressing
  • Balsamic or wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice for the dressing
  • Sugar 0.5 tsp (for the broccoli water)
    (2 g)
  • Salt to taste
  • Water for boiling the quinoa and broccoli

Step-by-step recipe

Quinoa

  1. Quinoa is still a somewhat exotic product for us, but most supermarkets sell it. Packs are usually small – 100–200 g – and the seeds come in a wide range of colors, so pick any you like. We liked the red-burgundy shade and went with it. The package almost always gives cooking instructions. Sometimes you can find quinoa in boil-in-bag pouches, which is convenient.

  2. Cook the quinoa in boiling water for 5–10 minutes, depending on the variety, until the seeds are soft or slightly split.

  3. Drain all the water from the cooked seeds (a fine sieve makes it easy) and cool them to room temperature.

    Quinoa.

Broccoli and vegetables

  1. A vegetable salad with quinoa is, first of all, the freshest vegetables: cucumber, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves, herbs. As a bonus we added avocado, which worked great. Broccoli, boiled and still a little crisp, made the salad more varied. Only the broccoli needs advance preparation.

  2. Cut the florets off the broccoli.

  3. Bring water to a boil and add a little salt and 0.5 tsp sugar (2 g). Boil the florets for 3–4 minutes, until al dente – they should stay a little crisp.

  4. Drain the broccoli and rinse it with cold water.

    Vegetables for the salad.

  5. Wash the salad leaves and pat them dry. Set a few whole leaves aside for serving.

  6. Tear the rest of the leaves by hand into large pieces and put them in a bowl.

    Don’t cut the leaves with a knife, or the salad will turn out soupy – too much liquid is released.

  7. Chop the green onion, parsley and cilantro and add them to the bowl.

  8. Cut the cucumber into cubes or slices – no need to peel it if it is juicy. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Add everything to the bowl.

    You can salt the salad if you like, but it is wonderful even without salt.

    Chopped vegetables.

Assembling and serving

  1. Avocado tends to darken in the air, so add it right before serving.

  2. Peel the avocado and remove the pit. Cut it into slices or large cubes.

    You can slice part of the avocado into thin pieces and lay them on the serving plate.

  3. Add the avocado, the cooled quinoa and the broccoli florets to the bowl.

    Mixing the salad.

  4. Toss the salad.

  5. Put a few whole lettuce leaves on large flat plates and pile the quinoa salad on top. If you like, sprinkle with a pinch of sesame seeds and add chili pepper cut into rings.

    quinoa salad

  6. For the dressing, mix the best-quality olive oil with any food acid – balsamic or wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice – about 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. Whisk with a fork.

  7. Pour the dressing over the salad right on the plate, without tossing. Serve immediately as an appetizer at the start of lunch.

Calories and macros

510 kcal

Serving ≈ 580 g

  • Protein15 g13% of kcal
  • Fat29 g54% of kcal
  • Carbs40 g33% of kcal

100 g89 kcalProtein 2.6 gFat 5 gCarbs 6.9 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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