Easy Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa uncooked

• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes petite diced, in oil

• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives

• 1/4 cup purple onion petite diced

• 1 cup cucumber sliced

• 1/2 cup red bell pepper petite diced

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

• 1 cup mozzarella pearls or diced mozzarella

• 1 large avocado cubed

Marinade

• 1 large lemon juiced

• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

• 1 tsp honey

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 tsp garlic minced

• 1 tsp oregano dry

• 1/2 tsp basil dry

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly cracked

• 1/4 tsp chili flakes optional

Instructions

• Cook the quinoa according to package directions.

• Meanwhile, cut/dice all your veggies. Add them into a shallow bowl.

• In a small jar or bowl, mix the marinade ingredients. Once the quinoa has cooked and cooled down a little, combine the quinoa, marinade and veggies together (without the cheese and avocado) and toss well.

• Once that step is done, add the mozzarella pearls and diced avocado in. Toss gently to coat well.

• Transfer to a dish and serve.

Notes

• Make sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking it, this removes the bitterness.

• When cooking quinoa, you can add a couple of pinches of kosher salt to the water to flavor the grain as it cooks.

• You can use a rice cooker for the quinoa, make sure to use the same liquid-to-quinoa ratio and follow the instructions on your rice cooker.

• Cool you quinoa down in the fridge, if you like, before adding other ingredients, so it doesn't heat up the other ingredients.

• You can use mozzarella pearls or diced mozzarella.

• You can swap sundried tomatoes for fresh, diced tomatoes.

• If you like a slightly more tangy hit to the salad, swap mozzarella for crumbled feta.

• For an extra pop of freshness, top this Easy Quinoa Salad with fresh cilantro or parsley.

• Taste for salt and adjust as needed, add more lemon juice too, if needed.

Shared from @cookinwithmima