Recipes
Coconut Quinoa and Spinach Salad
Coconut Quinoa and Spinach Salad
Serves 6 as a side
Note: I know some are still wary of using raw spinach, and I think arugula would be great as well, maybe just use a bit less as it’s a bit stronger in flavor.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Quinoa
1 Cup Light Coconut Milk
1/3 Cup Vegetable Broth or Water
2 Large Shallots
2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil*
1 Cup Fresh Pomegranate Seeds
4 Cups-ish Organic Baby Spinach
1/2 Cup Toasted Pistachio Nuts
2 Tbsp. Orange Juice**
2 tsp. Fresh Thyme or 1 tsp. Dried Thyme
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil (I used a lemon infused olive oil – SO good)
Salt/Pepper
Method:
1. In a small pot, combine the quinoa, coconut milk, water and a pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, this will take about 10-12 minutes. Empty quinoa into a bowl and allow to cool.
2. Slice the shallots width wise into thin coins. Heat up the oil in a 8-10” saute pan (you don’t have many to crisp up). * If you don’t have coconut oil on hand, canola oil will work as an alternative, it’s just not that great for you. Once it’s just shimmering, add in the slice shallots. Stand by them, as they’ll burn quickly. They will dance around a bit, and once you see the edges turn golden flip them over or move them around. Set up a double layer of paper towels, remove the shallots just as they turn brown and drain on the paper towels.
3. In a small bowl, mix the orange juice, thyme, olive oil and generous pinches of salt and pepper. **Any citrus would work – lemon, lime…whatever is on hand.
4. You want to make sure the quinoa is room temperature before you toss, or it will wilt the spinach, and we don’t want that. Maybe you do, but I don’t. In a salad bowl, toss the spinach, half of the cooked quinoa, half of the pom seeds and half of the pistachios with desired amount of dressing. Your choice as to what ratio you want, you can save the rest of the quinoa for later, or toss it in, again, the ratios are up to you. Garnish the top with the rest of the pom seeds, pistachios and all of your crispy shallots. Little grind of fresh pepper and enjoy.
Website: Sprouted Kitchen
Sara Morris is the food-loving, wellness-craving veggie fiend behind Sprouted Kitchen. The goal behind her blog is to make food taste good through using healthy ingredients: whole grains, unsaturated fats, natural sugar alternatives and the like. You will find recipes that use seasonal ingredients, and organic/local when found accessible and affordable.
On August 28th, Sara’s book Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods will be out in all major booksellers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble and at Williams Sonoma.
Photo credit: Hugh Forte
