Friday, May 16, 2008

quinoa and goat cheese salad


This is a salad I created for No Croutons Required challenge hosted by Tinned Tomatoes. Goat cheese is very fresh right now so I could not resist it at the market.

4 beefsteak tomatoes, cap removed, cored and hollowed out
Salt
2 cups cooked quinoa
½ English cucumber, finely diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup diced carrots
1 cup goat cheese crumbled and divided
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar

Salt the insides of the hollowed out tomatoes and drain them upside down on a rack. In a mixing bowl combine the quinoa, cucumbers, parsley, mint, cranberries, carrots, and half the cheese. Make a dressing of the olive oil, lime juice, and vinegar and toss with the vegetables and quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more olive oil or lime juice if you wish. Stuff salad into tomatoes and top with the remaining cheese.

This was my first time using quinoa and I am in love all though my son didn't care for the texture very much he liked the taste of the salad.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I love the addition of cranberries! Good thinking :)
I like quinoa, so this would be a good choice for me.
Thanks for entering your salad into our No Croutons Required challenge. the roundup and voting poll will be up on Tinned Tomatoes in the next few days.

maybelles mom said...

welcome to the quinoa club, it is delicious and satisfying.

Anonymous said...

That recipe looks really delicious. Personally, I highly recommend trying the extra-virgin olive oil from Holy Food Imports.
It is imported to the US from Israel, and it is produced using cold presses,
as was the method over 3,000 years ago.