Image by JCarrot

By Alix Wall July 18, 2008

I used to not really get quinoa. I’m sure there are some of you nodding your head in agreement. It’s hard to get excited about something that has so little taste.

But that’s because I had only had it mainly by itself. Quinoa is so ubiquitous here in the Bay Area, that once my friend Dorit showed up at a potluck announcing “I brought the requisite Berkeley quinoa,” and we all knew exactly what she meant. A Berkeley Jewish potluck isn’t a potluck without someone making quinoa.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

But I digress.

I have since come around on the neutral little seed. First of all, it has protein. Second, it takes on whatever flavor you put with it. It mixes well with other ingredients and doesn’t dominate. And, it cooks in only 15 minutes.

Also, here in the Bay Area, we can get black quinoa and red quinoa, not only the boring old white (I used a combo of red and white in the photo). At the end of the retreat for the executive committee to plan Hazon’s Food Conference last weekend, a group of us had dinner together. The East Coaster’s minds were blown by the sight of black quinoa.

So yesterday, I was hungry, and wanted to make one of those dishes where I use multiple items from my CSA box at one time. I whipped this quinoa salad together in no time, and it was so delicious, that I’m sharing the results here. In winter, I roast root vegetables, and mix them with quinoa, white beans, pine nuts, mixing with lemon juice and olive oil. In spring, I do the same with roasted asparagus, fava beans, and snap peas, also mixing them with white beans and pine nuts. This is the summer variation, and it’s even easier because the veggies remain raw. (I ran out of pine nuts, unfortunately, but otherwise, they’d be in there, too).

A tip: I always have several cans of beans in the pantry. While I prefer to cook with dried beans, sometimes you want beans when you want them, not the next day.

Summer Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups quinoa

2 ears corn

1 quart cherry tomatoes

2 small zucchini

15 fresh basil leaves

1 can cannellini beans

extra virgin olive oil

lemon juice

salt

pepper

Rinse quinoa in several changes of water, and then add to a small pot. Add 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the husks from the corn, and using a sharp knife, carefully slice the kernels off the cobs. Put them into a bowl. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Add them to the bowl. Slice the zucchini into thin half moons. Add them to the bowl. Julienne the basil leaves. Add them to the bowl. Open the can of beans, rinse them, and add them to the bowl. Douse everything with olive oil. Add some salt, and let sit.

When the quinoa is done, pour it onto a cookie sheet into an even layer so it will cool quickly. When it is lukewarm, add it to the vegetables. Season with lemon juice, more salt and pepper.

Toasted pine nuts make a nice addition.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount