Quinoa Salad with Fruit and Herbs

This salad was just going to be this salad made with quinoa instead of couscous, because quinoa was what I had in the cupboard. I was going to take a photo, and put it on Facebook and Twitter and call it a day. I started glancing around the kitchen and the garden, however, and decided that a fresh pineapple needed to be included, as well as some pineapple sage. The result was a different enough salad to warrant the writing of another recipe.

The dressing for this salad is virtually identical to the original, but since I was going to include the fresh pineapple, I added a couple pinches of ground ginger to the mix. It really goes well with the fruit as well as with the lime, cumin, coriander, and mint. The proportions of herbs and fruit are also similar in this recipe, although I left out the chickpeas from the original. Quinoa is a complete protein, so I felt like the salad was nutritionally significant without them. If you want to make a more substantial meal out of this salad, you certainly could stir in some chickpeas or some black beans.

I love the way this salad turned out! The bright flavors of the fruits and herbs really set the tone, while the slightly nutty flavor of the quinoa could stay in the background, but still compliment the whole salad. I loved the mint with the fruit, quinoa, and dressing, but I have to admit to being of two minds about the pineapple sage. It has a bit of a fuzzy mouthfeel, and its flavor is rather bitter with just a bit of the fruity-floral tone I was hoping for. It was good enough, but I don’t think it’s worth seeking out for this salad if you don’t have ready access to it. I included it in the recipe below, but as “optional”.

 

Other herbs would be great here, too, I’m sure, and a salad like this would be a good place to experiment with them if you like to grow them. You also could swap in different fruits depending on what you can get or what you like. This particular combination was delightful, gently sweet, well-complimented by the earthy cumin and coriander, and enhanced by the bright flavors of the fresh herbs. A really fun way to eat well this summer!

Quinoa Salad with Nectarines, Pineapple, and Mint

Don’t worry about getting your hands on pineapple sage for this recipe. The mint is great, however, and worth putting in.

Swap another liquid sweetener for the honey to make this salad vegan.

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa

1 cup finely chopped nectarine

1 cup finely chopped pineapple

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint

Up to ¼ cup finely chopped pineapple sage, optional

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander seed

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, nectarine, pineapple, onion, mint, pineapple sage if using, and lime zest. Gently toss together to combine.

2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk together until very well blended. Pour over the quinoa mixture and gently toss together to coat.

Makes 2-3 main-dish servings or about 6 side-dish servings. Refrigerate leftovers.

Other recipes like this one: Brown Rice Salad with Walnuts, Pears, and Blue Cheese; Couscous Salad with Nectarines and Chickpeas; Farro and Apple Salad with Craisins

One year ago: Asparagus Flatbread with Aged Gouda and Hazelnuts