Orange Quinoa Salad

I love grain salads, especially when they combine sweet and savory. There are several possible variations for this: add some chopped orange sections, shredded roast chicken, crumbled feta cheese...or all of the above! From Cooking Light, July 2006

• Ready In: 30 mins
• Serves: 6-10

Ingredients

• Dressing

• 1⁄4 cup  fresh orange juice
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
• 2  teaspoons honey
• 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

• Salad

• 1 1⁄3 cups  uncooked quinoa
• 2 3⁄4 cups water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1⁄3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 3  tablespoons  sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1. Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Cook raw quinoa in a large skillet for 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
3. Pour quinoa into a sieve and put the sieve in a bowl.
4. Add enough water to cover the quinoa and rub the grains between your hands for 30 seconds. Rinse and drain.
5. Do this two more times. If you skip this step, your quinoa will be bitter. (If you don't want to go to so much trouble, try making this with couscous instead.).
6. In a large saucepan, combine rinsed quinoa with 2 3/4 cups water and 1/2 tsp salt.
7. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Bring to room temperature, then stir in remaining ingredients and dressing.
9. Cover and chill.