Kale Quinoa Salad
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 large leaves of kale
- 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup dried cherries
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- freshly cracked pepper
- salt
- Start by cooking your quinoa. Put the quinoa, water, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. The quinoa will be ready in about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, de-stem and finely chop the kale (using 2 leaves, I ended up with around 2 cups). Place in a large serving bowl. Add the pistachios, cherries, and garlic.
- When the quinoa is cooked, add it to the kale mix. Toss with the olive oil, and the lemon zest and juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
I was pretty happy with this dish because Mike ate it, and it involved raw kale. ;) It’s also quick and easy to make.
You could add a bit more crunch and deepen the flavor of the pistachios by toasting them before mixing them into the salad. You could also play around with the nut and berry combination to suit your tastes and what’s in your pantry. The first time around I used goji berries. I debated about using dried cranberries this go round, but ended up using the cherries. Perhaps the cranberries next time.
Wow, that’s beautiful and sounds yummy!
My quinoa is red, though.
Where are you finding white?
At the neighborhood grocery store. :) They usually have both red and white. I just happened to have white on hand. I generally prefer the red, just for the color.
Interesting that you seem to have difficulty finding white. In my experience, it seems that white is much more prevalent in stores.
Found it!
But not near the red. . . hmmm, several feet over on the shelf.
I guess I just hadn’t seen it there.
(Hadn’t really looked for it, was happy with red, but this salad I think is prettier with the white.)
That is kind of odd that they aren’t stocked next to each other. Glad you located it. ;)
Hey, this looks outstanding! My kids won’t touch leafy greens, but I wonder if they’d eat this. I’m going to try it this week with sunflower seeds and chopped, dried apricots. Thanks for the ideas! You guys eat a lot like we do.
Ooo, sounds good. Hope the kids like it!
Yay for raw kale! What a colorful, delicious-sounding winter dish.
Thanks Hannah! What a colorful, delicious-sounding (and looking) blog you have. ;)
how much does this serve?
Hmm, well, I made it 3 years ago, so I can’t say I remember. But judging by the ingredients I’m going to guess 4ish.
Great recipe. I had a little white and a little red, so I mixed them. Very colorful.
Nice.
Tried this salad tonight – so good! Thanks for the recipe. I added a little fresh orange juice too which made it sweeter for the kiddo. It’s so good!
This recipe is fantastic. Easy to make, relatively healthy, absolutely delicious and the best part: gluten-free!