Key to enjoying quinoa is preparing it properly. Unless it's pre-rinsed, I routinely rinse quinoa well to slough off the bitter tasting saponins on the exterior. After tinkering with various cooking methods, I've come to prefer boiling it in a generous amount of water and then draining it, similar to how I cook pasta. If you're making this using leftover quinoa, figure about 1 1/3 cup cooked quinoa. If corn isn't in season, feel free to use frozen instead. For a vegetarian version of this salad, the bacon can be left out; it will still be plenty tasty.
Servings4servings
Ingredients
Salad
1/2cupquinoa
5cupswater
1teaspoonsalt
Kernels cut from 1 ear corn(about 3/4 cup corn)
4slicesbacon
4generous handfuls arugula
1small avocado, sliced and scooped from the peel
Pinch salt
Dressing
1tablespoonlime juice
1 1/2tablespoonsbalsamic vinegar
1teaspoonhoney
1teaspoonsoy sauce
2tablespoonsolive oil
1 1/2tablespoonsfinely chopped fresh chives
Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Put the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with water. Put the quinoa into a small saucepan along with the water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously until the quinoa is just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the corn kernels to the pot and cook one more minute. Drain well. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
While the quinoa boils,cook the bacon using your preferred method until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
Make the dressing by whisking together the lime juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, and soy sauce until the honey dissolves completely. Whisk in the olive oil. Whisk in the chives and several cracks of black pepper. Set aside.
Add the arugula to the cooked quinoa/corn and toss well. Drizzle about 2/3 of the dressing over the salad, toss again. Add more dressing if needed.
Divide the salad into 4 bowls. Crumble the bacon over each salad. Lay the avocado on top. Add a small pinch of salt to the avocado. If you have any dressing remaining, you can drizzle a tiny bit on top of the avocado slices.