Orange Quinoa Salad (serves 4)

I was inspired to make this Orange Quinoa Salad after having a chat to my friends about this remarkable little seed. If you've had quinoa before and thought it tasted like 'wet grass', give it another try. We had this salad with a beautiful piece of salmon and the flavour combinations were brilliant.











WHAT YOU NEED:

3/4 cup of quinoa
1.5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (you may need more)
1 orange
1/2 a lime
1 red capsicum diced finely
2 cups of salad greens (chopped roughly)
2 carrots grated
1 tbs dried cranberries
1 tbs almonds thinly sliced

WHAT YOU DO:

Pour the quinoa into a deep pan and lightly toast over a low heat until you hear a seed 'pop'. NOTE: I kept an eye on it as I've never done this before and kept 'swirling' the seeds to ensure they didn't burn!

Pour the stock into the pan and let the quinoa simmer for about half an hour, or until it becomes a translucent and the seed 'tails' appear. Transfer to a salad bowl and allow the quinoa to cool.

Dice the capsicum, grate the carrots and juice the orange and lime. Stir the carrot, capsicum and 'juice' into the quinoa and let it chill in the refrigerator. 

Whilst waiting for the quinoa to chill and soak up some of the juice, I recommend cooking a piece of salmon to serve alongside the salad. 

Before serving, slice up some salad greens and stir through. Garnish with some plump dried cranberries and thinly sliced almonds. Delish-wah!

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