Black Bean and Quinoa Vegetable Salad

Hey all, this tutorial will take you through the steps required to build a tasty vegetable salad that can be served hot or cold and be used as a main course or as a side. As the name implies the salad not only has black beans and quinoa but it also has bell peppers, green onion, cilantro, and spices.

There are three parts to this salad, the black beans, the quinoa, and the fresh vegetable salad. 

The black beans can either be left plain and mixed in or prepared Cuban style. For the Cuban style beans you will need the following:

• 29 oz can of black beans
• 1/2 tsp of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp of oregano
• 1/4 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of bouillon
• Olive oil for pan
• 1/2 yellow onion minced

For the quinoa you will need:

• 1 cup of quinoa
• Water (amount depends on cooking method)

For the fresh vegetable salad you will need:

• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper
• 6 Green Onion Stems Chopped
• 1 bunch of cilantro chopped

I start by cooking the quinoa. My preferred method is to use the pressure setting on my Ninja Foodi. I can set it and forget it. I add 1 cup of washed quinoa and 1 cup of water. I set the pressure to high for 2 minutes and once it is done pressure cooking I leave it another 10 minutes to release pressure and finish cooking. The method I used before I owned this pressure cooker was to add the 1 cup of washed quinoa to a pot or deep pan and add 2 cups of water. Then you turn the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Once you reach a boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it go 10-15 minutes until fluffy and most of the water has been absorbed.

Add the olive oil, bouillon, and onions to a medium sized pan. Then sauté the onions and let the onions absorb some of the flavor from the bouillon. Once the onions turn translucent, I add the entire can of black beans and keep it at medium heat. I proceed to add the cumin, oregano, tomato paste, and bay leaves and make sure it is well mixed. Then let the beans cook undisturbed for 8 minutes. Once the liquid has been reduced I add the red wine vinegar and brown sugar and mix well, then turn off the heat and let them cool down.

I chop the bell peppers and green onion into bite sized pieces. Then chop the cilantro as small as possible. In a large mixing bowl add olive oil, lime, cumin, garlic, and salt to a large mixing bowl and combine. Once the dressing is mixed together mix in all the vegetables trying to coat them all evenly in the dressing.

For the last step you want to add the cooked quinoa to the fresh salad and combine. Make sure the ingredients are all mixed together well. Then add the beans onto the salad and mix until everything has an even coating and consistency. There you have a delicious vegetable salad that is sure to fill you up.

This salad works great in my household as a main dish. We usually eat it with either tortilla chips or pita chips. It can also serve as a side to most dishes. As mentioned earlier once the salad cools down you can store in the refrigerator and serve it cold or reheat to your desired temperature.

With this recipe the salad is not vegetarian; however, by switching out the bouillon or excluding it you can make it a vegetarian meal that contains plenty of food groups to make a well rounded meal.