Whole grain salads aren’t usually the most exciting meal, especially this time of year, when produce picks are slim. But with a couple of smart cooking tricks and a heavy hand with those ingredients that are flavorful in February, you can prepare a grain salad that is healthful and delicious enough to repeat until spring.
While most whole grains take up to an hour to cook, quinoa can be simmered to tenderness in about 15 minutes. You’ll want to be careful with it though — add too much water and it’ll turn out mushy. Cook it too long and, again, it’ll turn out mushy. I prefer a water-to-quinoa ratio of almost 2-to-1 for a just-tender grain that’s firm enough to hold up to salad dressing.
For the vegetable component, I like to combine red bell peppers and enough chopped parsley to add pronounced flavor and color. While the quinoa cooks, cook half of the bell peppers in a generous glug of olive oil until their skins start to blister and blacken — you’ll get the lightly charred sweetness of roasted red peppers without the super-soft texture. Keep the remaining peppers raw for crunch. Mix these in with the parsley, briny feta cheese, and a large lemon’s worth of zest and half of its juice. Let it sit and quickly marinate while the quinoa finishes cooking.
I like to serve this salad right after the quinoa is stirred in, topped with a jammy boiled egg, for a warm, nourishing meal. However, if you’ve got leftovers, it’s just as good chilled, straight from the fridge.
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