Quinoa Salad with Tomato and Avocado

Quinoa Salad with Tomato and Avocado – A tasty combination of wholesome ingredients makes this dish a favorite on hot summer days.

Phew, what a poetic name! But don’t let it fool you, the taste is uuuuh-mazing!

I mean, how could it not be? We all know tomato and basil is a combination for winners and the creamy avocado goes just so well with the two.

And the nutty quinoa… Wait, what was that? Quinoa.

The super healthy grain that’s not actually a grain and nobody knew how to pronounce a few years ago.

Can you even remember the quinoa-free western world? Seems ridiculous to even think about it now.  

I do actually remember the days pre-quinoa, but just barely.

I don’t even recall my first meeting with the ancient super no-grain.

It was just there all of a sudden, totally out of the blue.

In my mum’s kitchen, in supermarkets, in books, on the internet.

Everybody was freaking out about how fantastic this not-actually-new-but-new-to-us thing was.

I was hooked immediately. Not just because of the health benefits but mostly because it tastes really nice.

And it is so versatile! It can be eaten hot or cold, in sweet or savory dishes…

And it really lends an incredible taste and texture to any dish. The hype had completely swallowed me.

And then suddenly there was a shortage.

The supermarket had a note up in the empty shelf space that they couldn’t get any quinoa delivered.

It was all over health magazines.

And I imagine thousands and thousands of people in despair, anxiously waiting for their favorite keen-wha to return.

What did everyone do?

Did they all have a secret stash in the darkest corner of their cupboards, guarding it like the most precious thing they possess?

Or did they weep themselves to sleep at night, thinking of all the wonderful dishes they couldn’t enjoy? I for one definitely belonged to the latter group.

I may not have cried over it (or I may be lying here) but I did certainly miss it!

Funny how we can all go from being perfectly fine without something to being in utter despair when we can’t have it anymore.

Well, lucky for all of us our quinoa eventually returned.

Boy, am I glad. I wouldn’t want to miss out on this salad!

Makes me wonder how many things we don’t know about that would make life just that little bit better…

Quinoa Salad with Tomato and Avocado Recipe

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Servings: 4

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 37 mins

Total: 57 mins

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 1/3 cups quinoa 250g
• 2 cups vegetable broth 500ml
• 8 medium-sized tomatoes skinned, deseeded and cubed
• 2 small avocados cubed
• 1/2 cup pine nuts toasted, 70g
• Handful of basil finely chopped

Dressing

• 4 tablespoons olive oil 60ml
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

• Cook quinoa according to instructions in vegetable broth. Cool down before assembling the salad.
• Put all dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake it until creamy.
• To assemble the salad, carefully mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and continue mixing until everything is evenly coated.

Notes

It is easier to skin the tomatoes if you blanch them for 10 seconds in salted boiling water. Make sure to make an X-shaped incision on the bottom of the tomatoes.

Add some extra flavor to the salad by adding a chopped red onion.

Serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side dish.

Nutrition (this is an estimate)

Calories: 575kcal

A tasty combination of wholesome ingredients makes this dish a favorite on hot summer days.

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