Minty Honey Tangerine Quinoa Salad

We eat Quinoa at least once a week and this is one of my husband’s favorite salads.  It has a wonderful crunch and goes well with Ahi Tuna steaks that have been grilled over a charcoal fire, first coated with Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce.

Minty Honey Tangerine Quinoa Salad
Makes 8-10 generous servings
PRINTABLE RECIPE 

Salad

¾ cups uncooked Red Quinoa, rinsed well, drained

¾ cups uncooked White Quinoa, rinsed well, drained

1 ½ cups Celery, diced (about 2 stalks)

¾ cup unsweetened dried Cranberries, plus 1 cup boiling water to soak

 2 small Scallions with tops, sliced

1 cup Carrots, peeled and diced (about 2 medium)

¾ cup Whole Raw Almonds

6 small Tangerines, peeled, seeded, sectioned with pith removed

½ cup fresh Chives, chopped

½ cup fresh Orange Scented Mint, chopped

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

DRESSING

3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

3 Tablespoon Honey

1 teaspoon Dried Red Pepper Flakes

Tangerine juice (from fruit)

3 Tablespoon Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Sea Salt and dash of Pepper to taste

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl using a fork or whisk until well blended.

 

Salad Preparation:

Cook Quinoa:  mix the red and white quinoa together, rinse several times in cool water, drain,  and follow package directions for cooking or use a rice cooker; add 3 cups of water to 1 ½ cups of dry quinoa.  Rice cooker will automatically shut off when quinoa is cooked. This has never failed for me and is the only way I cook quinoa.

Place dried cranberries in a heat resistant bowl and pour the boiling water over the berries. Allow to soak and plump up for about 10 minutes.

Place the cooked quinoa in a large 3 or 4 quart bowl.  Fluff with a fork and let cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Place the whole, raw, almonds in a skillet over medium heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and toss to coat.  Stir the almonds until lightly toasted; about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool.  Once nuts have cooled, rough chop them, I like to leave these in good size chunks for the crunch when mixed with the salad.

Dice the carrots, scallions and celery into a small dice, about a ¼ inch dice.  Chop the, chives and mint.  Peel, seed and remove as much pith from the tangerine’s as you have patience for.  Cut into small chucks; about three per section.  Save any juice that remains to add to the dressing.

Drain the cranberries in a mesh strainer, pressing just a bit to remove the moisture. Give the berries a rough chop to make a bit smaller.

Toss the quinoa with all the about ingredients and add the dressing. Mix until blended.  This is great at room temperature but is equally as good cold. 

Nutritional Information provided by NutriMirror