From left to right: shredded carrots, diced orange bell peppers, roasted white corn, diced red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, zucchini, cucumber, diced green bell pepper, marinated artichoke, black olives, black beans
I had so many ideas of different kinds of salads I wanted to make that I ended up prepping all my mise en place to see the kinds of combos I could come up with. I wanted to do some kind of asian inspired salad, but nixed the idea since it was a lot of food already.
First up was the Mediterranean quinoa salad with a red wine vinaigrette dressing:
Afterward, I made a Southwestern quinoa salad with a dijon and lime vinaigrette. Both salads needed more quinoa, rather than “topping,” but I had run out. Next time, I’d do a 75% quinoa / 25% “topping” ratio for more heartiness and balance. For a less healthy version, I like to add pasta. 🙂