Quinoa, Artichokes and Hearts of Palm Salad

You might be able to tell by my repetition that I really like quinoa. Quinoa is not actually a grain but more closely related to beets and spinach. Here's some information from the Wikipedia on quinoa -

"In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (12%–18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source among plant foods.^[4] It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest."

It also only takes 15 minutes to cook, as opposed to over an hour for rice, for which I tend to use it as a substitute. The trick with quinoa is to rinse it very well. I thoroughly rinse my quinoa three times before cooking it. The rinsing removes the surface saponin, which can cause the quinoa to have a bitter taste. I've read that some people soak the quinoa for several hours to remove the saponins but I haven't found that necessary with the commercially available varieties.

Ready to give quinoa a try? Try this salad and see what you think -

ingredients

1 1/2 cups quinoa (9 ounces), well rinsed

1/2 lemon

3 medium artichokes

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 canned hearts of palm (5 ounces), drained and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice

6 small Boston lettuce leaves

directions

1. In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the quinoa over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 20 minutes. Drain in a fine sieve, then spread out on a baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

2. Squeeze some of the juice from the lemon half into a small bowl of water; reserve the lemon half. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, snap off the outer leaves. Using a sharp knife, cut off the leaves, leaving the artichoke bottom. Cut off the stem and peel the artichoke bottom. Using a spoon, scrape out the furry choke. Rub the artichoke bottom all over with the lemon half and drop it into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining 2 artichokes.

3. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the artichoke bottoms over moderately high heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, then cut into 1/2-inch dice.

4. In a large bowl, mix the olive oil with the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and red and yellow peppers and toss to coat. Mound the quinoa salad on lettuce leaves and serve.

Let me know what you think! Next week I promise - no quinoa!