No matter what the season, this Quinoa Salad With Pomegranate is the perfect side dish!
Add a poached egg, a piece of salmon or chicken or a few slices of lamb backstrap or loin and you have a complete meal.
If you’ve never made a Quinoa Salad before, this recipe is the perfect place to start. It’s super tasty, easy to make and for any others you are serving that also haven’t eaten a Quinoa Salad, you will all be very pleasantly surprised.
For this Quinoa Salad, we have used White Quinoa but you could also use Tri Colour Quinoa if that’s what you have. Both varieties should be available and it won’t make too much different to the flavour.
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is thought by many to be a cereal grain because its nutritional makeup is so similar. But it actually belongs to the same family as the sugar beet and spinach! This is referred to as the goosefoot family. Botanically, they’re very similar. So quinoa isn’t really a grain at all. It’s actually a seed.
According to Ancient Grains.com, Quinoa is a useful little plant. Its leaves can be eaten like spinach but its seeds can also be used in the same way as grain. Also, Quinoa can grow in poor soil without fertilizer or irrigation. The United Nations has dubbed it a “super crop” because they believe it could go a long way to remedy world hunger.
Is Quinoa healthy?
If you’re a fan of a Quinoa Salad, you’re definitely on the right track healthwise.
Quinoa has a crunchy texture and nutty flavor. It’s also gluten-free and can thus be enjoyed by people who are sensitive to gluten or wheat.
The carbs in quinoa consist mainly of starch, insoluble fibres, and small amounts of sugar and resistant starch. This grain is considered a complete protein and provides 2 grams of fat per 3.5 ounces (100 grams).
As well as being able to virtually replace rice as a grain to add to salads or serve with curries and sauces, you can also switch Quinoa out for oats in a breakfast porridge or bircher muesli. It does need to be properly cooked in all instances – raw Quinoa would bring on a very sore tummy.
Because of it’s gentle flavour, Quinoa works in virtually every type of salad. We hope you enjoy our recipe for Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate!
Ingredients (serves 4 | makes 1 Large Salad)
- 1 cup White Quinoa
- 3 cups Chicken Stock
- 2 cups Baby Spinach Leaves
- 1/2 cup Pomegranate Seeds (Arils)
- 1/2 cup Toasted Hazelnuts (husks removed)
- 1 Avocado (peeled, seeded and chopped)
- 1/2 Pink or Ruby Grapefruit (peeled, seeded and chopped)
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Stevia or Caster Sugar
- Pinch Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper
- 1/2 Lemon, for juicing
Method
- Add the quinoa and the chicken stock to a mid sized lidded saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue to boil (lid off) until the quinoa has 'popped' and is soft right through. Turn off the heat, put the lid on the saucepan and allow to sit for another 10 minutes for the quinoa to absorb the last of the mixture.
- While the quinoa is cooking: Rinse the baby spinach leaves and pat dry/spin in a salad spinner Lightly toast the hazelnuts either stove top of under the grill Peel and chop the Avocado and squeeze with a little lemon juice Peel and chop the Grapefruit Remove the Pomegranate Seeds from the fruit (or use arils that are already removed)
- Drain off any remaining liquid from the quinoa and spread onto a broad serving platter to cool down. Tease any clumps of quinoa with a fork to release.
- Make the dressing by whisking together: Olive Oil Balsamic Vinegar Dijon Mustard Stevia or Caster Sugar
- Add the spinach and all the chopped ingredients (except the hazelnuts) to the quinoa and gently toss together. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle with hazelnuts.
Here's a few more classic salads you might like to try:
- Simple Caesar Salad (so simple you can have it ready in 6 minutes)
- Potato Salad with Egg & Onion
- Greek Salad Traditional Style
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