Really simple and delicious refreshing quinoa salad that has corn, pomegranate, peanuts, fresh mint leaves and is tossed in the simplest olive oil, honey and lemon dressing. So perfect for summers.
Life lately? Trying to balance between home workouts, eating carbs (hello homemade garlic bread sticks!), meditation, tossing in a salad every now and then and searching "how to stop procrastinating"... relatable? There are days when I have motivation level so high, that I draft 3 full blog posts in one day and then I have writers block all over again.
So long that I created and shared this recipe on Instagram, but why has it taken me so long to post this on the blog? Trying to figure this out... Anyway, this quinoa salad... honestly its summer or spring in a bowl. So refreshing and so easy to make - you really need simple basic pantry staples for this recipe, plus its vegetarian.
Details...
Perfectly cooked cooled down quinoa, that is tossed with sweet corn kernels, delicious pomegranate, finely chopped fresh mint leaves, plus for some protein? add chopped/ cubed paneer or feta cheese (- thank you for your flexibility, dear Quinoa salad)... and for the crunch? toasted peanuts, or how about candied walnuts from this beetroot arugula salad recipe, or some almonds, like I did for this chickpea arugula salad. So healthy, so fresh, so delicious and tossed in extra virgin olive oil, salt, lemon juice and honey.
How to make refreshing summer quinoa salad?
Start with quinoa...
How to cook quinoa?
To cook quinoa, soak 1 cup quinoa in water for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, add 1 1/2 cups of water and soaked quinoa. Let this come to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the flame and let quinoa sit covered for 20 more minutes. Fluff the quinoa with the help of a fork and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to fridge and use cold quinoa for this recipe.
In a large mixing bowl, add cooled down quinoa, cubed paneer (Indian cottage cheese) or feta cheese, boiled sweet corn, pomegranate, freshly chopped mint leaves, toasted peanuts. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, salt, lemon juice and honey. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Pour the dressing right before serving. Toss well.
Tips to make the best quinoa salad?
- make sure your quinoa is fully dry and fluffed up
- make sure your ingredients - including the dressing - are cold
- toss in the dressing right before serving
Variations and serving options?
- add some grilled chicken
- or add some grilled veggies
- how about some oven roasted crunchy chickpeas?
- add some crunchy oven baked tofu
- switch the dressing to a yummy peanut sauce 😀
- serve with homemade garlic bread sticks
- or along with these appetisers?
Refreshing Quinoa Salad with Corn and Pomegranate
Description
Refreshing summer quinoa salad with corn, pomegranate, mint leaves and crunchy toasted peanuts tossed in a simple dressing of honey, lemon and olive oil.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked & cooled quinoa (see Note)
- 3/4 cup sweet corn (boiled)
- 3/4 cup pomegranate
- 1/2 cup toasted peanuts
- 1/4- 1/2 cup paneer (small cubes) or feta cheese
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup mint leaves (chopped)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp honey
- salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add cooked quinoa, corn, pomegranate, peanuts, paneer and mint leaves.
- In a separate bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, honey and salt.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
- Pour over the dressing on the quinoa salad just before serving and mix well.
Notes
Note: To cook quinoa, soak 1 cup quinoa in water for 20 minutes. In a saucepan, add 1 1/2 cups of water and soaked quinoa. Let this come to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the flame and let quinoa sit covered for 20 more minutes. Fluff the quinoa with the help of a fork and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to fridge and use cold quinoa for this recipe.
Leave a Reply