Last week I was fully intending on making Vietnamese curry because I was having a mad craving for it, but then the weather forecast said that it was going to be in the low-90s and I decided curry would be a bad choice. So a quinoa salad happened instead!
I’ve never made quinoa salad before, but it seems simple enough, right? Throw in some quinoa, some onions, some vegetables, and some dressing–easy! I went with spinach and tomatoes because I felt frugal and didn’t want to go nuts with more veggies, then I decided to add salmon because I had some in my freezer that needed to be eaten. I also had a ton of lemons in the fridge from our game night party a couple weeks ago (my friend brought tequila and thought the lemons would taste like limes if they were green enough. Debatable…), so I wanted to use them to marinate the salmon and make a super simple vinaigrette. Lo and behold, a really easy quinoa salad!
Give the recipe a try, especially as we’re getting closer to summer. It’s super simple to make, easy on the wallet, and it’s so good! 🙂
(serves 4)
1 or 2 salmon filets
1/2 lemon
pinch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry quinoa
1 clove garlic, smashed
6 cups of baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup of tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 medium red onion, finely diced
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Thinly slice lemon crosswise into circles. In a small container or ziploc bag, season salmon with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and place two lemon slices on each side of filet. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Cook quinoa with chicken broth and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper using a rice cooker or on the stove.
- While quinoa is cooking, prepare spinach and onion then put them in a large bowl. When quinoa is done, add it to the bowl and mix until combined. The heat from the quinoa will wilt the spinach and slightly cook the onion.
- Remove salmon from refrigerator and dispose of lemon slices. Grill salmon on both sides for 4-6 minutes, depending on the thickness. Set aside to cool then shred into bite-sized pieces. Add to quinoa.
- Whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil until emulsified. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Add tomatoes to the quinoa and pour half of the lemon dressing. Combine thoroughly and add more dressing as desired.
- Serve warm or chill it in the refrigerator before serving.