Quinoa Recipe: Vegan Mango Quinoa Salad

Quick, Easy Salad Anticipates Summer, Takes Our Minds Off January!

Nicki Goff sent us her favorite quinoa salad recipe in December, making me wonder if she's lucky enough to live somewhere warm!

No matter the time of year, Mango Quinoa Salad is a great light main dish recipe, because quinoa is such a nourishing food, and mangos are ambrosia.

When we tested Nicki's quinoa salad recipe, mangos were out of season, so we used dried mango and soaked it overnight. This worked very well! Maybe even better than ripe mangos.

We made one other change to the recipe - deleting the ghee - making this a vegan quinoa recipe.

4 side or 2 main servings, 30 minutes prep time

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
• OR: 1/2 cup dried mango slices, soaked overnight, then cut in 1/2 inch dice
• 1/4 cup blanched slivered or sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Wash quinoa and boil in water for 10 minutes
2. Cover and let quinoa sit until it absorbs all the water
3. Fluff quinoa with a fork and let it cool to room temperature
4. Peel the mango and cut into cubes
5. Peel and slice the cucumber thinly
6. Add cucumber to mango along with the almonds and pumpkin seeds
7. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan and fry with turmeric for 30 seconds, then let it cool
8. Add the lime juice
9. Mix in olive oil, cilantro, salt and pepper with a whisk or a fork
10. Add the cooled quinoa to the mango mixture, pour the dressing over the salad, and toss
11. Serve immediately, or cover and chill