Quinoa & Mango Salad With Lemony-Ginger Dressing
★★★★★
PREP TIME
25 minutes
COOK TIME
50 minutes
SERVES
serves 4-6 as a main course, 6-8 as a starter
Ingredients
1 cup
regular, red or black quinoa, rinsed well in a strainer
2 cups
water
3
mangoes
1
large red onion, halved stem to root and slivered
1
can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups
micro greens (I used a rainbow blend package from Whole Foods herb section: mizuna, curly cress, red and yellow beet, arugula, cabbage) – if not available, mesclun, spring or baby greens are fine, rinsed and dried
3 tablespoons
chopped cilantro
2
avocados, halved, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon
olive oil
1 pinch
salt and pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons
lemon juice, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons
olive oil, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon
freshly grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 pinch
salt and pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cook the quinoa: In a saucepan, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until most or all of the water is absorbed, about 12-15 minutes. The little "tails" should pop free from the grain and it should still be pretty chewy. If any liquid remains, strain the quinoa. I usually add it to a strainer either way and rinse it under cold water to stop the cooking process, then continue to fluff it every so often as I'm preparing the other ingredients.
- Toss onion slivers with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes. Resist stirring until they begin to brown, then stir occasionally; not too much or they will not brown as nicely. Remove when they are soft and nicely colored. Let cool.
- Pit and dice mangoes. Try to squeeze out some of the juices from the fibrous part surrounding the pit before discarding it – there's often a lot of juice in that section. Add it to the diced mangoes
- Make the dressing: Whisk the olive oil into the lemon juice. Whisk in the ginger and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble the salad: Mix the quinoa, mango (and juices), black beans, and cilantro together. Spread the micro greens on a large plate and layer the quinoa mixture over the greens. Top with the roasted onions and the avocado slices. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.
