Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

An impromptu birthday party at my place called for a quick and easy dish that could complement a variety of gourmet sausages.  I came across this quinoa salad on www.allrecipes.com website which turned out to be filling and zesty.  The chili flakes, which I rarely use, gave a slightly spicy flavour that was just the right amount of tang without being too hot and spicy.  The quinoa is packed with protein and it includes all nine essential amino acids which are useful for your metabolism.

The original recipe called for lime and cherry tomatoes which my local mini-mart didn't have, so I used lemon and normal tomatoes instead. The salad can be served warm or cold but I preferred it cold when the salad marinated itself with the citrus vinaigrette over a couple of hours.

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
0.25 cup olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
0.5 teaspoon chili flakes
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
5 spring onions, finely chopped
0.25 cup coriander, finely chopped

Method

In a saucepan combine water, salt and quinoa, then bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the water has been completely absorbed.  Set aside.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and chili flakes in a small bowl.

Combine the quinoa, black beans, tomato, spring onions and coriander in a salad bowl then pour the lemon vinaigrette over it and gently toss until it's all mixed.

Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the vinaigrette flavour to permeate through the rest of the ingredients.