Roasted Cauliflower and Quinoa Salad

Thanks to sister-in-law Joan, who I like to call the Quinoa Queen, for instructing and encouraging me on using the wonderful grain.  I’ve tried to make it on several occasions, but found myself with mushy quinoa. Turns out I was peaking and stirring, a real no-no if you want fluffy quinoa. Now that I finally got the cooking technique right, I expect I’ll be using this delicious grain much more.

Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad

I just made this recipe up so I could use a nice little cauliflower I found today at Gourmet Garage. The rest of the ingredients were things I found while poking around the fridge to see what else I had on hand. Making it is quicker than it looks. While the quinoa is cooking, you can start the cauliflower roasting and prep the rest of the ingredients. It would make a nice lunch served on a bed of lettuce with a little Greek Yogurt on the side.

1 head cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup water

2 sticks celery, cut into small dice
1/4 large red onion, diced
2 tbsp capers, drained
1/2 cup chopped parsley
8-10 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 cup canned chick peas, drained
Juice of one lemon or lime (I happened to use a lime today)
Additional olive oil if needed

Roast cauliflower
Preheat oven to 475 degrees fahrenheit. Slice cauliflower into 1/4 inch thick slices – don’t worry if pieces fall apart. Toss with olive oil on large cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and place on lowest rack of the oven. Cook 10-15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook until bottoms of cauliflower are golden, 8-12 minutes. Carefully flip the cauliflower and bake another 8-12 minutes. set aside to cool.

Make Quinoa
In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa, water and a dash of salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower heat as low as possible and let cook for 20 mins (don’t peek, don’t stir!). Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.

Make salad
Toss veggies with lemon juice in a large bowl. If it seems dry, add a dash more olive oil Add quinoa, toss again lightly and serve.