Quinoa & Pecan Salad with Dried Cranberries

Last summer, I went home to the good ol’ Ottawa Valley for my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by throwing them a big-ass BBQ at their house. I made sure to prepare a lot of vegan food to ensure enough food for myself to eat (but more than anything, to show off some of the recipes from my e-book). It was a huge success and a nice added bonus was that some of the guests contributed incredible vegan dishes!! This quinoa salad was one of them!

My parent’s friend and neighbour Jane Beale made this tasty, gluten-free, high-protein quinoa salad and I just had to share the recipe! Jane is a lovely lady and HUGE animal lover. Her husband Pat Wolfe is a world-renowned log home builder and together they raise all kinds of animals on their beautiful property (including old, retired racing horses.) Awwwwww 🙂 Such sweet, good-hearted folk!

Serves 8. Prep time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 cups quinoa, raw
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
1 cup dried cranberries, diced
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (toasted first in the oven before chopping)
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Method:

Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add quinoa; stir, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until quinoa is soft and water is absorbed — about 20 minutes.

Add green onions, dried cranberries, cilantro, celery and pecans to a large salad bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Stir to mix.

Stir in the cooled quinoa. Set aside for an hour if possible; serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Samantha Shorkey