Quinoa Salad

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Source: NYT Cooking

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 small garlic clove
  • 2 lemons
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 3 cups cooked quinoa, cold or at room temperature
  • 2 mini seedless or Persian cucumbers, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 bell pepper, any color, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 cup finely chopped parsley leaves and stems (see Tip)
  • ½ cup green olives, such as Castelvetrano or Cerignola, pitted and halved

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, finely grate the garlic clove. Finely grate the zest of 1 lemon, then halve the lemons and squeeze in ¼ cup juice. Add the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

  2. Stir in the quinoa, cucumbers, bell pepper, parsley and olives. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt (if bland), black pepper (if mild), olive oil (if too puckery) and lemon juice (if it needs a punch).

Tips

The quickest way to chop a lot of parsley is to fold a small bunch in half so the leaves are under the stems. Hold onto the bunch with your non-dominant hand and finely slice the leaves and stems. Parsley stems are crunchy and concentrated with flavor; be sure to use them in your salad.

The salad will keep for up to 2 days refrigerated; refresh with salt and lemon juice before eating as flavors may become muted in the fridge.

Feel free to add other briny, creamy, snappy or herbaceous ingredients, such as feta, avocado, torn romaine leaves or fresh mint.