Quinoa avocado salad

Check out this incredibly delicious quinoa avocado salad. Not only it’s healthy and vegan but it’s also packed with plenty of textures and flavours. Also, it can be done in less than 30 minutes. It’s a perfect idea for a light lunch, lunch to go or dinner.

My new recipe on this FOODball journey takes you to Peru. You might have heard of Ceviche, as the most known Peruvian dish. Since I’ve already written a recipe for a variation of Ceviche, I decided to check out another popular dish of Peru called Quinoa avocado salad (Ensalada de Quinoa).

Quinoa got quite popular around the world lately. We all know it as a new superfood. But in Peru, they already know it for hundreds of years. It’s always been present in their culture. Quinoa is the pride of the Andes and South American cooking.

I also found a fun legend of how quinoa became one of the most essential foods in Peru. I took this quote from the video because I simply like it; “Quinoa is life. (Yes!) Quinoa is hope. (This sounds so deep.) Quinoa is the past. (Aha!) Quinoa is the present and the future of mankind.”

This recipe is another example of how a simple dish can become popular and important in someone’s culture. Quinoa avocado salad is easy to prepare, it’s healthy and delicious. Be ready for some great and big flavours!

Additionally, for some more quinoa recipes, you might check these out: the savoury carrot quinoa muesli, the healthy leek quinoa bowl or the delicious poached egg over quinoa.

Ingredients for two portions of Quinoa avocado salad:

• 100 g quinoa
• 150 g sweet corn (from a can)
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes
• 2 spring onions
• 2 shallots
• 1 lime
• 1 avocado
• 2-3 stems of coriander
• ca 5 walnuts (or hazelnuts, almonds, etc)
• olive oil
• salt
• chili (optional)

If you ever cooked the rice before, then you can cook quinoa too. Hehehe. Rinse the quinoa in a sieve under cold running water. After that put it to cook (for 100g quinoa use 200 ml water).

When it starts simmering, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. You will actually be able to see when the quinoa is ready. The quinoa seeds will get this cute “comma” shape and it will almost double in size.

In the meantime, wash and clean all the vegetables. Cut the tomatoes into smaller pieces, chop the onions and put everything in a salad bowl. Furthermore, add the sweet corn, chopped coriander and roughly chopped nuts.

Once the quinoa is cooked, transfer it into a sieve in order to get rid of all the water in excess. You might gently press with the back of a spoon on the quinoa to squeeze out some more water. Put the quinoa in the salad bowl, sprinkle with some salt and drizzle with olive oil. Give it a gentle stir.

At the end add the avocado (cut in cubes) and squeeze one lime on it. Finally, the Quinoa avocado salad is ready. Serve it for a party, picnic, lunch, brunch or any other time. You can also eat it directly from the fridge. Yes, it’s so delicious that you can enjoy it either warm or cold. Don’t forget to serve it when Peru is playing at the World Cup.

Buen provecho!

P.S.: Check out also the other recipes on this FOODball journey; Italian pizza and Russian salad.

(Source of the video: YouTube; The origin of quinoa) 

PS

If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)