Black Bean and Corn Quinoa Salad

Last week some friends invited us over for dinner and we offered to bring a side dish. I had no idea what I was going to make, even when I started making this. I had a nice new bag of tri color quinoa, so I started cooking that, not knowing where I was going to go with it. Then I just started throwing things in to a bowl and this delicious salad was the end result. I love this kind of thing; fresh veggies with just a touch of spiciness (don’t worry, it’s not too spicy.)

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. uncooked quinoa
• 1 C. water
• 1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz.) can of corn, drained
• 1/4 of a red bell pepper, diced (about 1/3 C.)
• 1/4 of a green bell pepper, diced (about 1/3 C.)
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 3/4 tsp. salt (taste and add more if needed)
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 TBSP. lime juice
• dash of pepper
• 2 TBSP. chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder

Directions:

1. Place the quinoa in a rice cooker with 1 cup of water and let the rice cooker run it’s course. If you don’t have a rice cooker, cook it just like you would cook rice on a stove top. You will know it is done when the curly tails  pop out from the grains.

2. Chop up all the veggies and dump them in a large bowl with the cans of corn and beans. You can really add more or less of something if you like. There is not an exact science to it all.

3. Add the lime juice and seasonings. Every once has different spiciness preferences, so taste it after each 1/2 teaspoon of chili power, before adding any more. If you don’t like spice, leave out the chipotle seasoning.  I just wanted to add a little more kick. And even with the amount listed, it wasn’t too spicy for my friend who doesn’t like spicy food. Or you can feel free to add more, just taste it frequently. You can also add a touch more lime juice if you like it a little more tart. If you don’t have chipotle powder, but like it spicy, you will probably need more anch chili powder.

4. Mix it all together and serve cold with tortilla chips.

Recipe by Edible Experiments