I made this salad just now and between me and the girls, it might not last until dinner. It's based off a recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, 101 Cookbooks. I used brown rice miso instead of tahini because, well, I'm just not a fan of the tangy-gritty flavor of tahini. (When I make hummus I cheat and use ground roasted sesame seeds and a touch of sesame oil instead of tahini.)
Quinoa Salad with Lemon Miso Dressing
- 1 cup of quinoa cooked in 1 3/4 cups water for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- 1 can of organic garbanzos, drained and rinsed well
- 1/4 white onion, finely diced
- a handful of fresh cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup brown rice miso (or any you like) thinned with 2 tablespoons of hot water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove of garlic, pressed
- 1/2-2/3 cup of olive oil
- freshly ground pepper
Mix or shake well and set aside.
Toss cooked quinoa and garbanzos with dressing until well-mixed, then add onion, cilantro and mix again. Taste for salt/pepper. I found that it didn't need any salt because the miso is salty enough. Just before serving fold in the spinach leaves. Serves 4.
Note: The spinach holds up very well in grain salads, especially if it is freshly picked (as from a farmer's market). It's fine even the next day--I often combine handfuls of spinach with my grain (quinoa, barley) and pasta/couscous salads for extra color, texture, and nutrition.
