Recipe – Quinoa Tabbouleh

Nutrition by Nancy is a huge fan of quinoa. It’s wonderful served hot by itself, added to stews, and as the main ingredient in a cold salad.

Tabbouleh’s a Middle-Eastern salad (pronounced ta-BOO-lee) . Usually made with bulgur wheat, we’re substituting quinoa here. Typical ingredients in a tabbouleh are tomatoes, onion, parsley and mint, with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

Quinoa’s such a wonderful grain. It’s considered an ancient grain and has not been bioengineered like wheat and corn. It’s a whole grain, supplying a wide variety of nutrients, including fiber. Quinoa also supplies all the essential amino acids, so it’s considered a complete protein. It’s a great choice for people on a gluten-free diet or those who are sensitive to wheat.

      Cooking Quinoa

Basic Cooking Instructions for Quinoa:

(Pronounced KEEN-wah.)  One thing Nutrition by Nancy really likes about quinoa besides the nutrition is that it cooks so quickly. It’s ready in 15-20 minutes. We usually cook 2 cups of dry quinoa with 3-1/2 cups of water on the stove or in the rice cooker. It cooks just like white rice but contains so much more nutrition!! Some of our cooked quinoa might be served hot with dinner. Then, leftover cooked quinoa is cooled off, then fruit, vegetables and seasonings turn it into a salad. You can also freeze cooked quinoa (without the salad ingredients) in a zipped freezer bag with air removed. Then, it’s ready any time you want.

      Quinoa Tabbouleh

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Ingredients

1-3/4 cups water

1 cup quinoa, uncooked

1 tomato, coarsely chopped and seeded

½ cup fresh mint

¼ cup raisins or craisins (or pomegranate-flavored craisins)

½ cucumber, chopped

Juice of one lemon

¼ cup chopped red onion

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1 grinding of kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan, bringing to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Let cool. (If you cook a large amount of quinoa, save 2 cups of cooked quinoa for this salad.)

In a large bowl, stir remaining ingredients into the quinoa. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.