Cassie’s Ruminations

Quinoa Taboule

This recipe is inspired by the one on back of my Bob’s Red Mill bag of quinoa. Quinoa (pronouced “keen-wa”) is a grain that was originally cultivated by the Incan people in South America. It’s a complete protein, which makes it great for vegetarian types. As an avowed omnivore, this is just keechy, but I like it for the quick and easy preparation and light but filling nature. 😛

This was my first time making quinoa, as opposed to eating salads made by other people, and I was very happy with how it turned out. I tried traditional taboule, a middle-eastern salad, made with bulgar many years ago and disliked it. I don’t know whether my tastes have changed or if it was the quinoa instead of bulgar that made me like this. At any rate, I’ll definitely make this again and try other flavor combinations throughout the summer!

This was a side dish for the ginger lime chicken that I made tonight. The two worked very well together.

Quinoa Taboule
Makes 3 servings

1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 cup water
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and white pepper

Bring 1 cup of water to boil in a saucepan. Add the quinoa and stir to combine. Bring back to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 12 minutes, or until all the water is just absorbed. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the quinoa with a spoon, and recover. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve warm, or chill for 1-2 hours before serving.