Quinoa Salad

Quinoa with green leaves in a white dish
This content originally appeared on 
tasteforlife.com
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Yield:
8

Ingredients

Roasted-Tomato Dressing

  • 2 lb tomatoes (4 to 5 large ones)
  • 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil, divided
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Quinoa Salad

  • 6 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
  • 1⁄2 cup toasted pine nuts
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh mint

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 250º.
  2. To make dressing, cut each tomato into eighths. Toss tomatoes and unpeeled garlic cloves with 1⁄8 cup of the oil.
  3. Place tomatoes skin-side down on a baking pan. Add garlic cloves to pan. Roast until tomatoes start to shrivel around their edges, approximately 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
  4. Peel garlic cloves. Add garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, remaining 1⁄8 cup of oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender. Puree until smooth.
  5. In a large bowl, mix together cooked quinoa, olives, pine nuts, 1 1⁄2 cups of the Roasted-Tomato Dressing, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped mint.

Notes

Serve the quinoa with extra dressing on the side, if desired. The dressing is also delicious over salads or steamed vegetables, or as a dip for crusty bread.