Mexican-Inspired Quinoa Salad

A friend of mine, M inspired me to make this salad. I changed the quantities a little and played around the seasoning, but it was one tasty salad! I’m making it again this Friday, I can’t wait.

It’s an all-in-one meal - you have quinoa, black beans, green peppers, tomatoes and avocado tossed together with fresh coriander (cilantro), cumin and lime juice. What’s not to like?

As I’ve noted before, we’re pretty big eaters, the following recipe feeds just the 2 of us, however, I’m pretty sure it can easily feed 6 people!

MEXICAN-INSPIRED QUINOA SALAD
Serves 6

Ingredients
150 g (¾ c) red/white quinoa, cooked and cooled
2 large green peppers, de-stalked, de-seeded, diced
2 ripe medium avocados, skinned, de-stoned, diced
2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
2 x 400g (14 oz) cans black beans, rinsed, drained
2 spring (green) onions, finely sliced
1 T olive oil
1 lime, juice only
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Dried oregano, to taste
Ground cumin, to taste
Dried/fresh jalapeno peppers, finely chopped, to taste
Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Place the quinoa, peppers, avocadoes, tomatoes, beans, spring (green) onions into a very large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients – olive oil, lime juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, jalapeno, coriander (cilantro) and season to taste.

3. Gently toss the salad with the dressing, adjust the seasoning if required and serve, enjoy!