Quinoa salad, why didn't I think of this sooner...

Quinoa (keen-wa) is a really tasty & healthy grain-like seed that is easy to prepare & goes well with pretty well anything.
I decided to try making a quinoa based salad & it worked out really well : ) Another great thing about quinoa is it's really filling, so this salad is pretty much a complete (super healthy) meal, & of course, being a salad you can mix & match ingredients to your liking.


Ingredients:
- 1 cup of Quinoa
- 3 tbs of Mirin
- 1/2 a small Onion - Finely diced
- 2 tbs of Olive oil
- A handful of roasted Cashews (or Walnuts) - Roughly copped
- A dozen marinated Olives - Sliced
- A dozen Sun-dried Tomatoes - Sliced
- 3 Brussels sprouts - Sliced & sauteed
- 1 tsp of Nuttelex
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Oil from the marinated olives & sun-dried tomatoes to dress


Method:
1. Thoroughly wash, rinse & drain the quinoa. In a small saucepan add the quinoa & enough water to go 1cm above the quinoa. Heat the quinoa on a low heat & allow to simmer gently.
2. While the quinoa simmers prepare the other ingredients. Set the sprouts aside to be cooked once the quinoa is ready.
3. Once the quinoa has expanded & almost all of the water is gone stir thru the mirin & olive oil. Place a lid on the pot & remove from the heat & allow to stand for 10 minutes.
4. Fry up the sprouts in some nuttelex, mirin, salt & pepper, & set them aside.
5. Add the quinoa to a large bowl along with all the other ingredients, season with salt, pepper & some of the oil from the marinated olives & sun-dried tomatoes. Mix well & serve!


This salad takes a bit more effort than some others, but it's very healthy, filling & super delicious. Quinoa is very versatile & can be used in a huge variety of ways, so I hope you all give it a try.

Catch you next time.