Quinoa & Avocado Salad

I've been using avocados a lot lately because they just scream "summer" to me. So any excuse to use them I'll take it. Also I've been cooking with quinoa a lot because my mom is gluten intolerant. It is really tasty and has a good texture. If you haven't tried it yet then I highly recommend it.

One of my favorite quinoa dishes is a quinoa & avocado salad which I found the recipe for in Fine Cooking. It is really easy to make too. Just get organized before you start.

Ingredients:
3 Tbs raisins(pref a mix of dark&golden but it really doesn't matter I've used both)
2 Tbs dried apricots, thinly sliced
1 cup red or white quinoa(I've only used white)
salt
1 large lemon
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 sweet paprika(I use regular paprika)
2 medium ripe avocados, cut into chunks
2 medium scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbs chopped toasted almonds
ground pepper

In medium bowl, soak raisins and apricopts in hot water for 5 mins. Drain and set aside

In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups water, quinoa, and 1/2 tsp salt to boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is translucent and tender(about 10-15 mins). Immediately fluff quinoa with a fork and let to cook to about room temp(you can turn it out onto a baking sheet for it to cool quicker).

Finely grate zest from lemon and squeese 1 Tbs juice. In small bowl whisk lemon juice, zest, olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss the vinaigrette with quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This is what it's supposed to look like, with the red quinoa.

Mine doesn't look quite as good but it tastes fabulous! I just need to learn to take pictures with a real camera besides my iPhone.

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