Machu Picchu Red Quinoa Salad

Quinoa should be rinsed in a bowl of water, then drained in a fine sieve before cooking. This step removes naturally occurring saponin's from the seeds that can cause the final cooked product to be bitter. Don't forget this step or you may not like Quinoa.

Ingredients 1 cup uncooked Red Quinoa, rinsed well 1¾ cup Roasted Corn, frozen 1½ cups Cooked Pinto Beans, rinsed drained 5 small Scallions with tops, sliced 2 small to medium fresh Poblano Peppers, cleaned and diced 1 cup Roasted Roma Tomatoes, chopped (or 1 cup canned, diced tomatoes, well drained) 6 -8 Black Olives, such as Kalamata, chopped Juice from 2 small lemons (about 4 Tbsp) 1 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 tsp gr. Coriander 1 Tbsp gr. Cumin 1 Tbsp dried Oregano (or 3 Tbsp fresh, minced) Salt and Pepper to taste Fresh Cilantro leaves (garnish)

Directions Cook Quinoa; follow package directions or use a rice cooker and add 3 cups of water to 1 cup of (rinsed) quinoa. This should make about 3 cups of quinoa. Fluff the quinoa with a fork after cooking and set aside to cool.

Mix together olive oil, lemon juice and herbs and spices in the bottom of a 3 quart bowl.

Add cooled quinoa, pinto beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, olives and scallions to the oil mixture and toss together. The remaining heat from the quinoa will thaw the corn if you have not already done so.

Add salt and pepper to taste. I use the optional fresh cilantro leaves for a garnish, but you can also add that to the salad directly

Serve warm or refrigerate to blend flavors. Makes 8-1cup servings

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