February 22nd: Quinoa & Squash (and chickpea) Salad

Day 2 of veggie salad make at home deliciousness experiment. Tonight's salad was inspired by one purchased last week at Cuisine & Passion, a local take out place with awesome food. The recipe came from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I made it as per the book for supper, then added some chickpeas to the leftovers, for the lunch version. Not that we're going full-on vegetarian, so it is probably less important for us, but quinoa is one of the few foods that contains complete protein. Other than quinoa and soybeans (superfoods on their own), beans and grains combined create complete protein, meaning, "the two contain complementary types of amino acids that cannot be produced by our bodies." (HtCEV). If you don't eat meat or animal foods like eggs and cheese, this is pretty much the only way you can get it. That's it for the lesson; now for the recipe:

Quinoa & Squash Salad

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions (20-30 minutes)
1 small butternut squash*, peeled, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces and gently boiled until tender, 10-15 minutes
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely diced red onion or shallot
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or chives


In a large bowl, gently toss together the quinoa, squash, pepper, onion and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the vinegar and oil together and add half to bowl. Toss and add more dressing to taste. Garnish with parsley.

*I used squash. The original recipe calls for one large or two small sweet potatoes.

For the lunch version, I threw in some cooked and cooled chickpeas. No idea how many. Till I thought it looked like a good amount. Très helpful, no?