Recipes > Quinoa & Bean Salad
- Serves: 4 to 6
- Active Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr - 8 hrs
- Views: 51,794
- Success Rating: 99% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Cooking the Quinoa
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable stock or water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Method
First clean the quinoa by rinsing it under cold water until the water runs clear (see note).
Place the stock, quinoa and salt into a small pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook for approximately 15 minutes or until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
Once done, remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for at least 5 minutes.
Once rested, spread the quinoa out onto a plate to cool completely.
NOTE: Quinoa is coated with saponins, a bitter-tasting compound that deters birds and other animals from eating the seeds. To remove the saponins, rinse the quinoa thoroughly under cold running water in a fine-mesh strainer until the water runs clear and no longer appears frothy. This means the saponins have been washed away. You can also soak the quinoa in fresh water for 10-15 minutes before rinsing, which loosens the saponins and reduces rinsing time (and also saves water).
Step 2: Preparing Your Mise en Place
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper or 1/2 mango, diced
- 1/2 bunch green onions, sliced
- 1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 cups cooked black beans (red beans would also be lovely in this dish)
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 cup small-diced zucchini
- 1 cucumber, small diced
- 2-3 Tbsp. red onion, finely diced
Method
To prepare your mise en place, cut the pepper into small dice. *Note: instead of yellow pepper, diced mango would make a nice alternative.
Finely dice the red onion, slice the green onions. Seed and dice the tomatoes, and small dice the zucchini and cucumber. Roughly chop the cilantro and set everything aside.
Step 3: Assembling the Salad
- 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp chipotle pepper puree
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup diced avocado
Method
To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice and chipotle pepper puree in a large bowl.
Next, add the black beans, quinoa and all of your mise en place. Gently fold everything together and adjust the seasonings to your liking (i.e., more lime juice, soy sauce, chipotle pepper, avocado, etc.).
Serve immediately. It can also be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
Chef's Notes
- by Kimberley Slobodian
- •
- December 15, 2009
This salad can be made in advance and makes a nice, healthy side dish. It can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
15 Comments
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I followed the suggestion of using mango instead of the yellow pepper and everyone loved it. The mango was a nice balance to the lime. At first people put a little on their plate as they were unsure of what it was, but they were all taking bigger helpings the second time around:) I had doubled the recipe as I was cooking for a crowd and I so appreciate a recipe that can be made ahead. I didn't add the dressing until the morning and the cilantro just before serving. As there were no leftovers, I didn't get a chance to test how the taste might have changed if I had put the dressing on the day before. Next time:) -
I made this with the mango and yellow pepper, and I also had some fresh mint and added that along with the cilantro....very yummy! Like Liz, I should have made more...no leftovers :( -
I keep trying to like quinoa, but until I made this salad, I was struggling with the flavor. The chipotle peppers and lime juice add just enough zing to help bring this interesting grain from tolerable to a "stand on it's own" level of interesting. I served this salad with the flank steak, and out guests couldn't have been happier. I will certainly make this again. Thank you -
I made this today and everyone keeps coming back for more. Totally delightful. Left out the onions and doubled the lime juice. Thanks! Excellent recipe. -
I made this for lunch today as a treat for my wife. She thought she had died and gone to heaven! I can't really tell you what we had for dessert (hehe) but it made making the salad totally worth it! -
Ha ha! You are too cute Leigh—glad that you and your wife enjoyed the salad (and dessert). Cheers! -
There seemed to be about twice as much dressing as needed for this salad when I made it - did I do something wrong? I only used one can of black beans, so maybe that was too few? Just added in a second batch of quinoa and that seemed to create the balance I was looking for, but I'd love to find out what happened. Thanks! -
Rouxbe Staff
Hard too say Sylvia... 2 cups cooked beans is about the amount you find in a can. Maybe apply less dressing next time to start and then add more to taste? ~Ken -
Hi :) I live in Asia,it is difficult to find chipotle pepper :( What can i substitute for it? Thank you Tum -
Hi Srirat - Thank you for your question - with regard to substituting for the chipotle pepper puree, consider any hot pepper as a replacement for the heat of the chipotle, such as fresh jalapenos, serranos or poblanos. Dried cayenne pepper or hot sauce might also work. The level of heat can be altered to accomodate your individual taste: For a slightly milder flavor, consider removing the inner membrane and seeds and chop the outside of the pepper you select and for a stronger heat leave the seeds and membrane intact. I hope this helps. Thanks for learning with Rouxbe! Chef Kirk -
I substituted parsley and a bit of chopped arugula since I didn't have any cilantro available. Still delicious and the arugula added its own "zip". I'm learning that not all sherry vinegars are equal. I purchased my first bottle of sherry vinegar for another Rouxbe recipe and I recall I did not like the outcome....too vinegary. It seemed that this dressing was going the same route so I added some honey to cut the sharpness. Is sherry vinegar generally a little sweeter than some vinegars? -
HI Beth. I really appreciate how you are thinking here. Using your palate, rather than a recipe, to strike flavor balance is the sign of a great chef. I think that within the 5 tastes (sweet, sour, pungent, bitter and salty) each one can be balanced by any of the others. So an overly sour vinegar can be balanced by a little sweetness. Sherry vinegar is especially strong. It has it's place but can be dominating if used with a heavy hand. Good work here! Lauren -
Where can I find chipotle pure? Or I need to make it, can you please share how to make it? -
HI Wahiba, All you need to do is blend chipotle chilis with their sauce from a can of chipotle in adobo. Hope that clears things up! Cheers, Sandy -
Made this a couple times and it's delicious. The recipe says to mix the vinaigrette and then add the ingredients to the sauce. I would recommend mixing the ingredients without the vinaigrette so you can control how much you add. The first time the vinaigrette was too strong. The second time, I only used 1/2-3/4 of the mixture and was much more to my preference.
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