This quinoa parsley salad pays homage to the classic tabbouleh. A vegan salad that is both refreshing, familiar and an excellent palate cleanser between mouthfuls.
Rinse the red quinoa thoroughly to get rid of the bitter coating in a fine strainer. Add ½ cup uncooked red quinoa to 1 ½ cups of water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. When cooked, drain properly, as it can get watery. Put the red quinoa back in the saucepan, put the lid on and let it steam for 10 minutes to dry it out.
Wash the parsley thoroughly and put it through a salad spinner to dry it. Remove the stems from the curly parsley and either chop finely or put into a food processor to blitz until finely chopped. Pour into a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Cut the cucumber with the skin on. Cut them into big slices and then quarter them.
Cut the tomato into small cubes.
Pick some of the nicer mint leaves for garnish. Then roughly chop the rest to yield ½ cup.
Slice the green onion very thinly to yield ¼ cup.
Assembly
Add all the ingredients into the mixing bowl with the parsley.
Add olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon and salt.
Mix thoroughly and serve.
Notes
You can enhance this salad with several additions. To keep it vegan and gluten-free, consider adding bell peppers, beans (like garbanzo, red kidney, or black beans), red onion, and celery.
A tabbouleh is traditionally made with flat leaf parsley. The flat leaf parsley would be a better choice if you prefer a softer texture.
Should you prefer the flavour of the vegan quinoa salad to be more herbaceous, tone down the use of quinoa and add more herbs. You can certainly add more mint if you love the finish it gives.
Green onions are more subtle when eaten raw. As this salad doesn’t have a lot of intense flavours, it can’t mask the overly pungent onions, and it could overpower the dish. In saying that, however, you can absolutely use red onions if that is your preference.
Some people love their lemons and the freshness of the citrus. Squeeze more lemon juice into the salad. It will definitely help to tame the flavour of the red quinoa.