You can substitute any color of rice or quinoa to make this gorgeous (and healthful) salad, which works as a vegetarian main course or hearty side dish.
Ingredient info: Black rice and red quinoa are available at better supermarkets and at natural foods and specialty foods stores.
Bring rice and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine quinoa, bay leaf, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return quinoa to hot saucepan. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf, fluff quinoa with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add to quinoa. Add rice; mix well. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oil, fresh lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut avocado into wedges. Serve salad with avocado and lemon wedges.
I was intrigued that a seemingly simple grain dish could garner such rave reviews, but after trying this, I'm enthusiastically joining the chorus. I made with a few grains that I had on hand including rainbow quinoa and a mix of black rice/buckwheat/oat/brown rice/barley. I work late and need to have dinner prepared the night before so that my husband can have something to get on the table quickly after he picks up our toddler from daycare and so I made this the night before, leaving out the parsley and lemon juice. The following night, he reheated the rice and mixed in the juice and parsley and this is how I had it (I would have loved the cilantro but didn't have any on hand and it wasn't worth picking up a whole bunch just for myself; hubby doesn't care for it). I ate this with sliced avocado and topped with Tapatío hot sauce and it was one of the most satisfying vegan meals I've had in recent memory. Very much looking forward to eating this again with the cilantro next time!
This was great! I subbed peas for the rice (which was an excellent alternative!!!). I also dry toasted the cumin seeds then ground them and added to the dressing mix. Bumps up the flavor a bit and added a bit of roasty flavor. Would make again!
I have made this dish a number of times and LOVE the flavor. It is my go-to dish for gatherings. Definitely recommend this recipe.
We make this dish VERY often. I have a friend for whom I made this the first time their family came over ... She now asks for it every time we go to their house. (And I then make extra so she has left-overs!) Since I've become sensitive to garlic & onions, I will use leek or shallots instead (those don't hit me as hard) and use garlic infused olive oil. We play with using only quinoa/different colors of quinoa or sometimes using a different grain entirely (freekah or farro). It's been a favorite now for years, kids and all!
I didn't have chives or parsley, and I substituted lime wedges for the lemon. This was still fabulous.
Delicious and easy to make. I've made it a few times and sometimes I throw in extra vegetables if I want it to be more colourful. It's more pleasant if you use the red and black coloured quinoa and rice, but still ok if you use the normal coloured quinoa and rice. N.B. I didn't do the lemon wedges and skipped the parsley a few times and it was still good.
Great recipe with any type of rice/quinoa but stunning with the red/black combo. SHORTCUT: cook onions, garlic, and cumin as the first step and cook with the rice.
OMG!!! This is so good and pretty easy to make. You do dirty a lot of prep pans, etc. though. VERY gourmet worthy. I used black quinoa because I had some on hand. The avocado is a nice addition and I didn't do the lemon wedges.
Love this dish! We omit the cilantro but otherwise make it as written. The avocado is a lovely creamy counterpoint to the salad. Served with grilled chicken.
this is my new favorite side dish. i added a little more cumin but kept the recipe pretty much as is. i served with pan grilled salmon and it was incredibly flavorful!
I wish there were a way to edit reviews... I forgot to add a user rating on the last one. This was very light and tasty. Would be wonderful with the addition of tomatoes and/or black beans.
Very light and tasty. I followed the recipe exactly and this turned out great. Nice for a light, healthy meal.
Really delicious - makes for a nice, fulsome lunch. Tweaked the recipe a bit: upped the cumin seeds to 3 tsp; upped the garlic; used all of one bunch of cilantro and no parsley; added about 1/2 c. of toasted, coarsely chopped almonds; instead of lemon wedges, served with lime wedges, and hot sriracha sauce. I think the almonds and sriracha sauce were key to jazzing this salad up.
YUM! I made this according to the recipe and loved it! My husband and 2-year old did, as well. I think it would be a wonderful side dish for fish or chicken and am really happy to have another main dish option for vegetarian friends!
Exceptionally delicious! I doubled the cumin and cilantro (maybe more than doubled even!), but I love both those flavors. Also added a bit more lemon juice. The Avocado and/or lemon wedges are not necessary, but definitely adds to the end result. Make a double batch and have quick easy lunches as it is good cold, and reheats well too.
Love this recipe! We make it (or a version) about once a week. We've experimented with various adds/deletes. The steadfast items to make this work, is the cumin and avocado (with or without the rice). We love caramelizing the onions, and often subbing with shallots or leek. Another twist is soaking some dried shiitake mushrooms and using the "broth" to cook the grains. I served as a main for a vegan friend and he said it was the best quinoa he'd ever had, and he eats quinoa a lot!
This was lovely. I did change it slightly to suit my tastes (NO cilantro, more cumin, 2tbs parsley). I would also add more avocado next time. It was enough for two main meals (added a fried egg for the hubby).
I love quinoa and I found this to be fresh and delicious.
We've made this twice now, and loved it both times. Cooked the rice in broth and added red pepper flakes to the broth for a little extra zing. Also increased onion and spices, after reading other comments that the taste was a little bland. It's not bland -- it's subtle.
Yum! Loved this salad....I could not stop sneaking bites. I forgot the avocado and did not have chives, but it was still great. I'll definitely make this one again.
Loved this so much! Filling, fresh taste, great texture and crunch. I will definitely make this again.
I had this at a dinner party and loved it and the host pointed me to this recipe. This is really yummy and very easy to make! I like to boil the quinoa in extra water, like pasta.