Crispy Quinoa Salad

From Owner/Executive Chef Dana Honn of Carmo Café

Read more about the Spirited Dinners series, for which Honn created a menu, here

Yield: 8–10 servings

Ingredients:

For the salad:

6 cups of fair trade organic red quinoa, cooked*  

1 cup fair trade white quinoa, toasted in a frying pan

1 cup sea lettuce leaf, torn 2 cups Peruvian white corn***, cooked

1 medium cucumber, peeled (if necessary) and diced

½ cup Aji dulce, diced (any sweet aromatic peppers)

1 red onion, sliced

¼cup cilantro, chopped

1 quart teardrop tomatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

For the dressing:

1 tbsp aji panca paste**

juice of 3 limes

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Take 1 cup of white quinoa and toast it with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Fry on medium low heat until it begins to brown. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool.

2. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until emulsified.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add cooked red quinoa, cucumber, white corn, red onion and cilantro and toss thoroughly with half the dressing and adjust salt to taste. Pour mixture onto a large platter.

4. Tear whole sea lettuce leaves into bite-size pieces and sprinkle on top of salad. Sprinkle the crispy white quinoa over the top. Garnish with teardrop tomatoes and drizzle the remaining dressing on top.

Chef's notes:

* Quinoa can be easily cooked in a rice maker. For every cup of quinoa add 2 cups of water. Add 1 tsp salt and cook using the instructions with your rice cooker.

** Aji panca paste can be easily ordered from online Peruvian grocers.

*** Peruvian white corn can also be ordered online. Organic white corn could be substituted, if need be.