While my husband and I were in Hawaii celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary, he regularly ate a Mediterranean-style quinoa salad from the local ABC store. When we returned home to South Dakota, I did my best to recreate this dish that he enjoyed eating so much!
The finished product is a little bit different every time I make it because I just guesstimate the amount of each ingredient. Once the salad "looks" right, I do a taste test to make sure I like the balance of flavors and textures. Very scientific, I know! ;)
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
quinoa
sun dried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
feta cheese (crumbled)
pine nuts
sun dried tomato salad dressing (or other similar vinaigrette)
Directions
1. In medium-sized pot, combine 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until quinoa has absorbed all water. Remove from heat, cover pot, and let quinoa rest for 5-10 minutes. Uncover pot and fluff quinoa with fork. Put in refrigerator to cool completely.
2. While quinoa is cooling, drain sun dried tomatoes on paper towel to remove excess oil and then chop into smaller pieces. Drain water from artichoke hearts, slice into quarters, and then chop into smaller pieces. Drain liquid from chickpeas.
3. Toss all ingredients together in large serving bowl, starting with small amount of dressing and adding more to taste. (For reference, I used half jar of sun dried tomatoes, full can of artichoke hearts, half can of chickpeas, entire 4 oz container of crumbled feta cheese, and half bag of pine nuts.)
4. Salad is delicious served at room temperature and also stores well in refrigerator!
