Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

I'm starting to explore with Quinoa. Wow, it's delicious and a fabulous alternative to rice or pasta. I found a recipe on Pinterst from With Style & Grave that looked great and was very similar to a recipe that I adore from the Noble Pig. Thus I tweaked it a bit for my own liking and added a few things.

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Printable Version click here.

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 t. salt 
• 1 t. pepper
• 1/2 cup lemon juice 
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
• 6-8 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup cucumber,diced
• 1 cup zucchini, diced 
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional) 

Rinse Quinoa - Put 1 cup Quinoa in a medium sauce pan and fill with water, swish around and strain with the lid as much water as you can. Repeat 2-3 times. I've read that if you do not rinse the Quinoa that it will have a slight bitter taste to it. It's not essential to get every drip-drop of water when rinsing because it's cooked in water anyways. I wouldn't bother with a fine strainer, seems more of a pain than anything. The lid to the pot worked great for me.

After you rinse your Quinoa, add 1 1/2 cups water and 1 t. salt, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. There should be no excess water in the pot.

Meanwhile mix olive oil, lemon juice, other 1 t. salt, cumin, and black pepper

When Quinoa is done cooking, transfer to a bowl and drizzle olive oil mixture on top. Mix thoroughly then add the rest of the ingredients.

Enjoy!