Quick easy quinoa salad with cucumber and mint. Perfect for a summer picnic salad!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
are you a gardener What cucumbers do you grow?
Today I’m growing Persian cucumbers that have a nice thin skin with tender seeds. I usually pick them when they’re small, but even when they get as big as regular cucumbers, they’re not bitter at all.
The cucumbers are just coming in, which means I have a small harvest each day to use (or give away to lucky neighbors).
This recipe is inspired by a quinoa and cucumber salad I had while visiting fellow food bloggers Diane and Todd from White on Rice Couple.
Easy Cucumber Quinoa Salad
It’s wonderfully simple, just cooked red quinoa tossed with chopped fresh cucumber and mint and seasoned with rice vinegar.
By the way, quinoa looks and acts like a grain, but it’s actually a seed and is therefore higher in protein and lower in starch than most grains.
Cucumber Mint Quinoa Salad
If you don’t have flavored rice vinegar, just add a little honey or sugar and some salt and pepper to regular rice vinegar until you have the sweet and sour balance you like.
ingredients
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1 Cup Andean millet (we prefer red quinoa)
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2 cups water
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
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1 big cucumberpeeled for thick skin, unpeeled for thin skin (about 3/4 lb cucumber)
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1/4 Cup mintthinly sliced
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1 tablespoon green onionthinly sliced, or chives, chopped
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3 to 4 tablespoon flavored rice vinegar
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2 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
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1 avocadopeeled and chopped (optional)
method
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Cook quinoa:
Check your quinoa package. If it says flush it, then flush it. If not, then skip. Place the quinoa in a 1 1/2 to 2 quart saucepan. Add the water. Add half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
Cover and cook 15 minutes until the quinoa is done. Remove from stove.
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Cool quinoa:
Allow the cooked quinoa to cool to room temperature. You can help cool the quinoa quickly by spreading it out on a sheet pan.
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Prepare cucumbers:
Halve the cucumber in the middle. Then quarter each half lengthways. Scoop up most of the seeds and discard them. Slice the cucumber pieces again, this time crosswise into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices.
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Assemble the salad:
When the quinoa has cooled, place in a large bowl and gently toss with the cucumber pieces, mint, and spring onion.
Drizzle with seasoned rice vinegar and toss again. Drizzle with olive oil and toss gently. Add more salt or seasoned rice vinegar to taste. Gently fold in chopped avocado, if using.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 144 | calories |
| 3g | Fat |
| 26g | carbohydrates |
| 3g | protein |
