Black Quinoa Salad with Lemon Avocado & Pistachios

I had a huge bunch of beet greens that I wanted to use when I saw the recipe that came along with our CSA produce box, a Black Quinoa Salad with Lemon, Avocado and Pistachios by Deborah Madison and I immediately decided I would try out the recipe.  I know that lots of good things have been said about quinoa already, but it is an especially good carb for diabetics since it is digested very slowly in the body and won't spike your blood sugar.

I had never cooked with black quinoa before this so I never realized that black quinoa is much crunchier than other quinoa.  At first I thought maybe I misjudged the cooking time!  It makes for an interesting texture and the color adds aesthetic interest, but I think if I were to make this again, I'd mix the black quinoa with some of the other quinoas...it's just a little too crunchy for my personal taste.

However, the dish itself was beautiful and very easy to throw together.  I loved the dressing and it went perfectly well with all the herbs mixed into the salad.

{Black Quinoa Salad with Lemon, Avocado & Pistachios}

From Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:

2cups cooked quinoa

8oz of cooked greens chopped

zest of 1 lemon

1tbsp lemon juice

3tbsp olive oil

1/2tsp ground cumin

10 mint leaves minced

1tbsp sliced chives

1 avocado

crumbled feta or ricotta

pistachio nuts chopped coarse

Directions:

1.  Toss together the cooked quinoa and chopped cooked greens.  (I just sauteed the greens beforehand in a pan with salt & pepper)

2. In a bowl, whisk together lemon zest, juice, olive oil, cumin and salt & pepper to taste.

3.  Pour over the quinoa mix, add mint and chives and toss together.

4.  Serve quinoa mixture with slices of avocado, feta, and pistachios.