Looking for a side salad to take last week was a bit challenging.
It needed to be something that we could eat on the ACD diet while still being accessible enough that people other than us would eat it, we still don't have a fridge. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing I decided that Quinoa would probably be my best bet. Although I knew basically no one at the party would have tasted it before I was banking on it's wonderful texture to ease the whole grain-ness of it all.
To my surprise I found I had a hit on my hands.
I don't think I have ever been asked so many times for a recipe. The problem was that it was a rather severe adaptation of
Vegan Greek Quinoa Salad. Although I know what I did it was still very much in flux inside my head. I gave out a general ingredient list to those that asked but I think the Sumac might have been even more unfamiliar than the Quinoa so I am pretty sure I didn't really help them any. It's a shame because I have to say once I tasted it I understood why they were so blown away.
Greek Quinoa Salad
(serves 8-10 if only salad available)1 1/2 C Quinoa
3 C Water
1-2 tsp Olive Oil
2 thick strips of Lemon Zest, chopped finely
3 tsp Sumac
1 Tsp Dried Garlic Flakes
1/2 C pitted Kalamata Olives, quartered
1/3 C roasted Pine Nuts
1/4 C Fresh Basil, roughly chopped
1/4 C Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 - 1 C Fresh Spinach, roughly chopped (to taste)
salt to taste
Bring water to the boil and add the Quinoa. Cover and reduce the heat to med-low until the water is absorbed, around 20 min. Once the Quinoa is cooked, you can see the little tails come out, stir through the lemon zest, olive oil, sumac and garlic flakes.
Put it all in the fridge until completely cool.
Once cool add Olives, roasted pine nuts, basil, parsley. Mix well to get everything well incorporated. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for at least half an hour or more.
Serve at room temperature
