Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

Adapted from the Veggie Belly blog.   http://www.veggiebelly.com/ This was so good! A nice change to my usual quinoa salad and a great way to celebrate the sunny weekend we had.  Even a so called "quinoa hater" loved it.  Quinoa is high in protein so this make a great meal on it's own, or as a side to something delicious on the BBQ on a fantastic sunny day.  I hope you like this as much as my dinner guests and I did. The picture doesn't do this salad justice (it is soooo pretty,) but we were hungry and couldn't find the good camera, so we just used the cell phone and dug in!


Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

For the quinoa
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

For the fruits and veggies
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup cubed ripe mangoes
1 cup cubed cucumbers
1/2 cup dried cranberries

For the lemon basil dressing
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
20 Basil leaves, chopped finely
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the quinoa and chicken stock in a medium skillet and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, and simmer covered for about 15 minutes or till the quinoa is cooked. Remove the lid, and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature. (Or I find the easiest way to cook quinoa is in my rice cooker.)

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the fruits in a bowl and refrigerate till you are ready to serve the salad.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, except the chopped basil and cilantro. Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. Chop and add the basil and cilantro to the dressing just before serving. If you add it earlier, it will go black.  I found that this salad did not require any added salt, but this will depend on how salty your stock is. 

Add half the dressing to the quinoa and mix gently.

Assemble the salad just before serving – toss the quinoa, fruits and cucumbers together. Serve other half of the dressing on the side. Serve  immediately.

This served 4 for dinner and I found the leftovers kept and made a great lunch for two the next day.