My sister-in-law Kelly made this salad for our family Fourth of July cookout-fireworks-extravaganza.
It was …
AMAZING.
Gorgeous.
Delicious.
Jam-packed with a rainbow of great ingredients.
There was quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH), which is a pure and digestible protein. Black beans. Red peppers. Yellow peppers. Orange peppers. Plum tomatoes. Cucumbers. Cilantro. Feta Cheese. Wow.
The dressing (which blew my mind and I’m going to have to try on a simple green salad) had more ingredients than I have ever put in a dressing (including Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and dijon mustard).
And this massive bowl of goodness was nearly gone by night’s end … and I almost cried because there were no leftovers for us to take home.
NOTE: This is a HUGE amount of salad made for a party of about 16-20 people, so if you’re making this for a smaller gathering, please adjust quantities.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups Quinoa (cooked and chilled)
- 6-8 Plum Tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 large Red Onion (chopped)
- 1 Red Pepper (chopped)
- 2 Yellow Peppers (chopped)
- 1 Orange Pepper (chopped)
- 2 Cucumbers (chopped)
- 1 15 oz can of Black Beans (rinsed)
- 1 bunch of Cilantro (chopped)
- 1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 2 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
- 2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
DIRECTIONS:
Chop all the veggies to roughly the same bite size pieces and toss with the quinoa. Add the black beans, cilantro and cheese and set aside.
For the dressing: combine the olive oil, mustard, Bragg’s liquid aminos, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper (to taste).
Toss the quinoa mixture with the dressing and let me know if you aren’t the most popular person at your party … because Kelly was.
She’s awesome.
