Quinoa & Black Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup – Quinoa, raw (red or tri color quinoa is pretty)
• 2 cups Black beans, cooked
• 2 each- plum tomatoes, small diced
• ½ small bunch- parsley, coarsely chopped
• 4 each- scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 each- medium cucumber, peeled, small dice
• ½ bunch- mint, minced
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup- extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp.- cumin powder
• ½ – ¾ tsp. Sea salt

Method

1. Rinse quinoa well in cool water and drain in fine mesh strainer.
2. Bring a medium size pot of water to a boil, add a dash of salt. Add quinoa to boiling water and cook for 16 minutes.
3. Drain quinoa and rinse, shaking off excess water.
4. In a large bowl, toss warm quinoa with beans, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin powder and sea salt. Let sit until it reaches room temperature.
5. Combine quinoa with tomatoes, parsley, scallions, cucumber and mint, mixing thoroughly.
6. Season with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice as needed.

To Serve

Serve quinoa and black bean salad as is for a great one dish meal or place it on top of arugula, watercress of other mixed baby green lettuces.