Crunchy Quinoa Salad

Made this yesterday and cannot stop eating it. For those not aware of quinoa, its a wonderful low fat, low carb source of protein. Most grocery stores carry it in the bulk section. Its becoming easier to find every day. To cook quinoa, first you need to rinse it in cold water to remove the outer covering which otherwise gives it a bitter taste. Then basically boil one cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp kosher salt for about 20 minutes in a covered saucepan. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, you're done!

Always toast almonds before using in a salad(or any nuts for that matter, brings out the flavor and aroma). Also in this recipe use pecorino romano cheese. It has a higher salt content and more of a bite than parmesan which this salad needs to make it pop! Enjoy!

Recipe:

Cook 1 cup of quinoa as above

Salad:

1 cucumber chopped
1/2 fennell bulb chopped fine
1 small shallot chopped
1 bunch parsley chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
handful of toasted almonds
handful of grated pecorino cheese
drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
a few splashes of sherry or champagne vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix quinoa with salad and you're done.

Bulgur Wheat Salad

An interesting grain, actually steam cleaned pulverized wheat. Its good for wheat salads mixed with other grains such as quinoa and farro and also can be used for stuffings. I made a Syrian bulgur salad from Joyce Goldstein which is basically bulgur, parsley and walnuts with a pomegranate and lemon dressing. Tart and salty at the same time. Really unique taste.

Tabouleh with chick peas and cucumbers

I'm always looking for new ways to get whole grains into my diet along with some protein. I'm talking about something that tastes good and qualifies as an easy filling meal that I can eat at home or easily take to work. This recipe qualifies. The bulgur is a nutritious, nutty whole grain that's really easy to make. The chick peas add some protein and texture, and of course the tomatoes and cucumbers give flavor and crunch. Making this when tomatoes are in season is always a plus. Here's the recipe:

1 cup bulgur wheat(soaked 1 hr with 1 cup hot or cold salted water)
3 medium tomatoes
1 cucumber
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint(or more if you like)
1 can chick peas washed and drained
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 1/2 to 2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and let stand for about 1/2 hr.