Nutty Quinoa Rice Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup cup of quinoa
6 shallots - chopped
1 red capsicum - deseeded and chopped
10 snow peas washed, stalked and cut into 4
1 large carrot - grated
1/3 cup currants (no vegetable oil)
1/2 bunch of coriander - chopped
1/2 bunch of thai basil - chopped
1/4 cup cold pressed nut oil  (eg macadamia, almond, walnut)
3 TBS soy sauce (tamari)
1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 TBS finely grated fresh ginger.
3/4 cup cashews lightly roasted
2 TBS sunflower seeds lightly roasted

METHOD

Cooking the quinoa and rice
Before cooking quinoa and rice, clean them by placing them in a strainer and running under cold water while rubbing them together.

To cook quinoa and rice, simmer the quinoa and rice in four cups filtered water for 20 minutes. This yields approximately four cups cooked rice/grain. To enhance the rice and quinoa's nutty flavor, dry roast them by cooking them in a skillet on medium-low heat for five minutes, stirring constantly.

1. Place cooled quinoa and rice and all other salad ingredients into a bowl and mix
2. Mix the dressing and pour over the salad ingredients and mix thoroughly
3. Coarsely chop the topping ingredients (nuts and seeds) and place in salad just before serving
 
Quinoa is a good source of protein with all the essential amino acids and is rich in essential nutrients including; iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, vitamin E, selenium, manganese, magnesium, tryptophan, copper, phosphorus, fiber and lignans.

Although technically a seed, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is commonly referred to and used most often as a grain. Once only available in health foods stores, quinoa is now available year-round in most supermarkets.

I absolutely love quinoa as it is an alkaline grain, gluten free and can easily replace rice in many dishes. Quinoa comes in 3 colours white, red and black, I usually get a mix of all three and use them in dishes from breakfast to dinner.