Warm Quinoa Salad

As promised, the lovely quinoa salad that I paired with my split pea soup! For those of you on low-carb or high-fiber (or low fat, as long as you use tofu in the place of cheese) diets, this is the salad for you. It's better than any "packaged" salad you'd find in a supermarket or those naked, boring salads that you make when dieting (yes, I know, I know). The combination of roasted cherry tomatoes with quinoa and paneer cheese (I prefer cheese over tofu, as recommended by 101 Cookbooks) is mouthwatering. This was my first experiment with quinoa, and I can officially say I'm in love! Easy.

Warm Quinoa Salad (Serves 4-6) - from 101 Cookbooks

• a splash of extra-virgin olive oil
  
• a pinch of fine grain sea salt
  
• 1 shallot, minced
  
• 3 cups cooked quinoa
  
• 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned
  
• 1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
  
• 2 cups extra-firm nigari tofu, browned (or halloumi cheese or paneer cheese)
  
• 1/3 cup good pesto
  
• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (or you can use a mixed seed mix)
  
• 1/4 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)
  

1. To roast cherry tomatoes: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Halve the tomatoes and arrange on a baking tray. Mix with splash of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), brown sugar, and pinches of salt. Facing cut-side up, place in the oven and bake for 45 mintutes or until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

2. Rinse about 2 cups quinoa in strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring the quinoa and 4 cups water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain and has a tender crunch (or "pop" in your mouth). Drain.

3. Sweat the shallots or onions for a minute or two over the stove in EVOO. Stir in the quinoa and corn and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the spinach and then the cheese, cooking until heated through. Stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds well and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy.