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New Beginnings: Quinoa Feta Salad with Tomatoes and Basil, Tossed with a Lemon Vinaigrette

12

July 16, 2010

Recipe: Quinoa with Feta, Tomatoes, and Basil Tossed with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Quinoa Feta Basil Tomato

Quinoa with Feta, Tomatoes, and Basil Tossed with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Friends of ours, Liz and Daniel, recently had a baby. She is darling, and perfect, and oh-so-tiny. When you haven’t seen a newborn for a while you forget just how little they are. In typical Columbia City fashion the neighborhood has circled around them to provide support in the way of dog walking, plant watering, and, you guessed it, food delivery.

Since I’ve got two of my own dogs to walk, and have been known to kill weeds, I signed up for option 3.

Liz and Daniel are both vegetarians, so this dish required a bit more thought, as I am an unabashed meat-eater. I wanted to create something that would travel well, require zero effort on their part, and provide enough for a few meals. Quinoa is my current magical grain of choice, but with summer having finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest, I wanted to dress things up a bit.

The result was a sort of Greek Inspired Caprese, tossed with quinoa. It was quite delicious (if I do say so myself), and even better the second day. This recipe can easily be halved or doubled, pending how many you’re cooking for and is a beautiful dish for a BBQ potluck.

Quinoa with Feta, Tomatoes, and Basil, tossed with a lemon vinaigrette
Serves 8

2 cups quinoa – rinsed

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 medium tomatoes

1 cup basil, lightly packed, and sliced into ¼ inch strips

1 1/2 cups feta

4 TB Olive Oil

3 TB Lemon Juice

Salt/Pepper to taste (go easy on this, because feta can be quite salty!)

  1. Add 1 TB olive oil to a heavy, lidded sauce pan and bring to medium heat. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly toasted. Add the stock and stir constantly, being careful not to get splattered. Bring the stock to a boil, stir once more, reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and leave lid on for 5 more minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork to allow to cool slightly.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large serving bowl add the remaining 3 TB olive oil and 3 TB lemon juice and whisk to make the dressing.
    Feta, tomatoes, basil   
  3. Dice the tomatoes and add to the mixing bowl. Allowing them to mingle with the dressing for a few minutes. Dice the feta and add to the tomato/dressing mixture. Tossing until evenly coated.
  4. Once the quinoa is slightly cooled, add to the serving bowl and toss with the feta, tomatoes, and dressing.
  5. Add the sliced basil just before serving and toss.

12 comments »

  1. All the ingredients are in stock; time to merge them into this tasty summer treat.

  2. Erina says:

    Let me know what you think! Thrilled you’re making it!!!

  3. Mike says:

    We have enjoyed quinoa ever since we made this recipe by Giada for Herbed Quinoa.

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/herbed-quinoa-recipe/index.html

    I think we will pick up some more quinoa and feta soon and try this.

    Might make a great side to fish or chicken.

  4. Erina says:

    Hi Mike, thanks for the suggestion.

    I’ll definitely try this out.

    Ironically, both the quinoa and feta were from Costco for this dish!!

  5. Teensie says:

    loved it!!

  6. Mike says:

    Here is my blog entry on your wonderful recipe. I added your blog to my links.

    Great dish, we really enjoyed it.

  7. Des says:

    YUM! I am loving experimenting with quinoa. I never would have thought to add feta to it but I love the idea of the creaminess. I wonder how goat cheese would do….yay time to experiment some more! 🙂

    • Erina says:

      Hmmm, goat cheese could be good. I think you’d want to let it cool fully before you added it so it didn’t melt too much. The possibiliities are endless when it comes to this miracle grain…love it!

  8. Karista says:

    Mmmm… This looks divine! I love all these flavors and combined with quinoa it makes the perfect meal. Or just adding grilled chicken or fish would be fab too. Ok, I’m hungry now. 🙂

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