Feeling guilty over devouring a two-pound lobster last night in celebration of my 35th wedding anniversary, tonight I’m eating a healthy quinoa and black bean salad that’s tossed with a lime-cumin dressing and served on a bed of fresh pea shoots. I’ve posted other quinoa recipes before, so you already know that these grains are amazingly-nutritious. Adding the delicate pea shoots provides a rich source of Vitamins K, C, and A. What a delicious way to offset the gluttony of the evening before!
Quinoa and Black Bean Salad
Recipe from Epicurious
Ingredients for Salad:
1½ cups quinoa
1½ cups cooked black beans, rinsed if canned
1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
1½ cups cooked corn (cut from about two ears)
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2 pickled jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
Ingredients for Dressing:
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
1/3 cup olive oil
Directions:
1. In a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a large fine sieve.
2. In a saucepan of salted boiling water cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain quinoa in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over a saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in saucepan occasionally, adding water if necessary).
3. While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeños, and coriander. Toss well.
5. In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.
6. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.
Serves 4 to 6 as an entrée or 8 as a side dish.
Linnell’s Notes:
1. Fresh jalapeño can be used instead of pickled jalapeño.
2. Coriander is also called cilantro. According to Wikipedia, “Cilantro (sih-LAHN-troh) is the Spanish word for coriander leaves.”
3. Because I had fresh lemons and didn’t have fresh limes, I substituted 5 tablespoons of lemon juice for the lime juice. With that substitution, I decided to use Meyer lemon-infused olive oil in lieu of regular olive oil.
4. Another successful substitution was Italian parsley for the coriander leaves. I’m sure the recipe would have had a more southwestern flavor, if I had used lime juice and coriander leaves. My version had a bit more of an Italian flare.
5. I used less salt than the recipe called for. I did not add any salt to the bean and vinegar mixture and I only put in a pinch of salt into the dressing mixture.
ENJOY!
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