A flavorful and ultimate delicious summer salad! It tastes so very fresh and is made with seasonal ingredients that you can customize to your taste. Thanks to quinoa, the summer salad is protein-rich and satisfying. Everyone will welcome your vegan, gluten-free quinoa super salad, whether at a party, as a side dish or as a refreshing lunch.
Quinoa superfood!
This quinoa salad is one of my truly favorite salads and is much loved by my guests. It is a winner at every garden party, for your picnic in the park, as an appetizer, side dish or as a healthy, wholesome lunch or dinner.
Quinoa is a very old staple food from the Andes Mountains in Central America. Popular in many countries, it is gaining popularity in Germany and Switzerland as well. The Incas already cultivated this “pseudo-grain” thousands of years ago. In the Incan language, Quinoa means “mother grain”. Quinoa is commonly considered to be a grain and is usually referred to as such, but it is actually a seed that belongs to the goosefoot family. Quinoa is thus related to spinach, chard and beetroot.
What’s so great about quinoa? Quinoa is gluten-free, low in calories, full of protein and minerals and has a great taste. White quinoa is mild, while red quinoa has a nutty flavor and is a bit more grainy. Matching summertime, this quinoa salad is very refreshing, though you can change its taste to your liking. Coriander fans add fresh coriander, with pomegranate seeds it becomes more colorful and even more superfoody, and garden vegetables keep it varied and seasonal.
I recommend buying quinoa in organic quality and Fairtrade certified. Present your healthy vegan quinoa salad at your next summer party!
Quinoa and Fairtrade
Fairtrade aims to empower quinoa farmers to meet the challenges they face and continue improving their living conditions. Consumers like you can help, by choosing Fairtrade quinoa when you shop.
Fairtrade certified quinoa farmers are paid a Fairtrade minimum price that can offset sudden price drops which may occur in increasingly competitive markets. Organically grown quinoa receives an even higher Fairtrade minimum price. Fairtrade standards encourage practices to improve the sustainability of quinoa farming, from preventing soil erosion to safeguarding biodiversity. There are 1,800 types of quinoa that have adapted to their local growing area. Additionally, stronger farmer organizations are fostered. They are better suited to implement collective improvements such as communal water management and crop processing facilities.
The establishment of local primary processing facilities and of central processing and packaging plants have created additional jobs. Additionally, they also generate added value that directly benefits the producers. As a result, Fairtrade helps to increase the share for the producers and to make the whole money share distribution fairer.
By buying Fairtrade products you can support the sustainable cooperation with suppliers from less privileged countries. At the same time, you can ensure the preservation of valuable food and support organic farming.
Are you new to healthy, organic vegan cooking and looking for more tips and information? Are you looking for for new inspirations or yummy tasting dishes like this healthy vegan Quinoa salad? One of my classes might just be right for you!
Healthy Vegan Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Für den Quinoa
- 150 g white quinoa
- 100 g red quinoa
- 1 tsp salt
Für das Dressing
- 1 organic lemon 3 Tbsp freshly sqeezed lemon juice and 1⁄2 tsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 5 tbsp cold pressed olive oil
- 1 tsp mustard, mild
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 small clove of garlic gepresst
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- salt & pepper
Weitere Zutaten
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 1 spring onion
- 150 g cherry tomatoes
- 250 g cucumber
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 100 g green olives
Instructions
- Rinse the white and red quinoa thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve. Bring to the boil with 4 dl of salted water in a large pot with a lid. As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat and let it swell for 10 minutes. If there is liquid left in the pot, heat it again without the lid, let the water evaporate and stir. Then pour the quinoa into a bowl and leave to cool.
- For the dressing, put all the ingredients in a small screw-top jar, close it and shake vigorously until you got a homogeneous dressing.
- Toast the sunflower seeds in a coated frying pan without any fat added. Take them out of the pan and put them aside.
- Cut the white and the green part of the spring onion separately into rings. Briefly fry the white part in the frying pan with a bit of heat-resistant olive oil.
- Quarter the cucumber lengthwise and then cut into slices. Halve or quarter the cherry tomatoes. Get the raisins ready. Either pit the olives or tell the diners when serving that the olives are not pitted. ?
- Mix the quinoa with all ingredients including the dressing in a big bowl. Season with salt and lemon pepper. For best results, let it stand for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy your meal!
Notes
Btw. have you checked out my IG Profile @dontwasteyourtase ? There the stories are sometimes in German, but more often now also in English. I share food stories but also inspiration from my life 😀
