Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Spicy Corn, Black Bean, and Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (keen-wa) is an ancient grain that is versatile and healthy for you. That's all fine and good, but if you've never cooked with it, then you are missing out because it also tastes amazing. It could easily play the part of rice, couscous, or pasta in any dish. Quinoa's flavor reminds me of the mildness and nuttiness of brown rice, but it is gluten-free. And it only takes about 14 minutes to cook.

This corn, black bean, and quinoa salad is fast and easy, plus it is great as a side dish or as a healthy snack. Collect these ingredients:

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 ears of corn (peeled, washed, kernels removed)
4 scallions (chopped)
2 cups cooked quinoa (cooled)
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1/2 lime (juiced)
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of the ingredients into a big bowl and toss together. You can add cilantro if you'd like, or even better, dice up an avocado to put on top as a nice touch. You can serve this cold --or warm like I did -- alongside some delicious seitan and squash enchiladas with feta.

(As a side note: Is it weird that I never noticed that my dog looks like my guitar until just now?)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

cute dog!

Anonymous said...

This looks great ! I love quinoa, it is an excellent alternative to rice and other carbs. I try to use it in risotto...

http://theripetomato.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/keen-whaaaaaaaaaaa/

Enjoy !

Stacey Greenberg said...

My hubby makes this and it is yummy!

That is really funny about your dog.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Ooh, all my favorite ingredients!

Anonymous said...

Wow! That looks delicious. I love quinoa. It's the best stuff.

I love the dog pic. It's hilarious.

What seitan recipe do you use?

Bianca said...

Your dog does look like your guitar! But it's weird that you're just noticing this...since you see those two everyday.

I love me some quinoa and black bean salad. So simple. So healthy. Yum.

Susan G said...

I always love your food posts, but I laughed hysterically at the dog/guitar photo!

K.K. said...

That is hilarious.

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