My favorite go-to healthy and light, but mighty filling
salad. A combination of tangy citrusy cabbage, salty peanut butter drenched
quinoa and zingy vegetables mingling with vibrant cilantro and crunchy peanuts.
This salad never fails to surprise my taste buds, it leaves you craving more and
because its gluten free and vegan feel free to say yes to seconds.
INGREDIENTS-
·
¾ cup uncooked quinoa
·
1-2 cups shredded red cabbage (MORE, pile on
the cabbage)
·
1 red bell pepper, diced
·
½ red onion, diced
·
1 cup shredded carrots
·
½ cup chopped cilantro
·
¼ cup diced green onions
·
½ cup cashew halves or peanuts
(honey-roasted is good)
·
1 cup edamame
·
Fresh lime, for a bit of tang (1-2 limes for
added zing)
·
For the dressing-
·
¼ cup all natural peanut butter
·
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
·
3 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten-free
if desired
·
1 tablespoon honey (use agave if
vegan)
·
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
·
1 teaspoon sesame oil
·
1 teaspoon olive oil
·
Water to thin, if necessary (or try adding the
juice of half a lime)
INSTRUCTIONS-
1.
To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with
cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a
boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and
let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove
from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool
for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
2.
To make dressing: Add peanut butter
and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20
seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and
stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply
stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.
3.
Add as much or as little dressing as
you’d like to the quinoa. Alternatively you can save the dressing for later and
add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of the dressing usually soak
into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa first.
4.
Next fold in red pepper, onion,
cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green
onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.
MODIFICATIONS-
- Don’t shy away from cabbage! I double or even triple the amount of cabbage the recipe calls for. Bring on the purple veggies!
- Toss the vegetables in lime juice for an added oomph of citrus and to soften the crunchy cabbage
- Pour the quinoa directly into the dressing and let it soak up the flavors while you chop the vegetables to create a delicious ginger peanut infused quinoa mixture
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