Quinoa recipie I LOVE

Quinoa and Avocado Salad Dried Fruit, Toasted Almonds, & Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette


Ingredients

3 Tbsp. raisins or cranberries
2 Tbsp. dried apricots, thinly sliced
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
Kosher salt
1 large lemon
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 medium firm-ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

"In a medium bowl, soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Chop appricots into small pieces.

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (The outer germ rings of the grain will remain chewy and white. Some germ rings may separate from the grain and will look like white squiggles.) Immediately fluff the quinoa with a fork and turn it out onto a baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

Finely grate the zest from the lemon and then squeeze 1 Tbs. juice. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt. In a large bowl, toss the vinaigrette with the quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve."

Number of Servings: 4
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user RVASARAH.