Quinoa with Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

I have fallen in love with quinoa over the past year or so, which is approximately 4 billion years after the rest of America fell in love with it, but I live on an isolated ranch in Oklahoma and trends generally take a little longer to get here. I don’t make quinoa in my own kitchen very often, but get to eat it here on catering tables, in delis if I happen to be in New York City, or when I stop at Whole Foods in Tulsa now and again.

I did make this quinoa salad with watermelon and feta a couple of years ago, but completely forgot that I had photographed it and never posted it here! I’m an airhead that way.

Anyway, I won’t illustrate all the benefits of quinoa, because the internet has exploded with recipes and information about the ancient grain. I’ll just say that if you haven’t tried it, you should! Even though it looks a little weird, with its spiraled germ and all, it is absolutely delightful whether as the basis for a salad OR mixed with butter, brown sugar, and cream for a warm breakfast treat.

And it’s very, very, very, very good for you. (Unless you mix it with butter, brown sugar, and cream. Ha.)

Here’s a play on a quinoa salad I had a few months ago! It’s gorgeous, flavorful, and delightful. If you’ve never tried quinoa, this is the perfect intro!

I have a preference for red quinoa, because I think the color is pretty and more interesting. But any quinoa is fine!

Pour quinoa into gently boiling water, add a little salt, and reduce the heat to low and simmer it, covered, for about 15 minutes.

Use a fork to stir/fluff it. Most of the water should be absorbed by now.

Incidentally, there are two approaches to cooking quinoa: One is the method above, wherein you double the amount of water to grain. The other, which my friend Trey does, is just to dump the quinoa in boiling water, cook it until it breaks open and the spiral germ is visible, and strain it as you would pasta.

Either way works fine!

Now, I want the quinoa to be at least room temperature before I add the salad ingredients, so to cool it quickly, I dump it onto a baking sheet…

Spread it out with a spatula…

And just let it cool for about 15 minutes or so.

While it’s cooling, get the salad ingredients ready: Grab some red grape and yellow cherry tomatoes. My favorite combo!

Proof: My favorite Bruschetta recipe.

And this pizza. It wouldn’t be as pretty without the mix of yellow and red!

Okay, back to the salad: Halve all the tomatoes and set them aside.

Then make a simple balsamic vinaigrette: 3 parts olive oil…

1 part balsamic…

Along with salt and pepper. You can also press a garlic clove and throw it in for even more deliciousness!

Vigorously and violently shake the dressing until it’s all combined, then set it aside…

And grab a hunka hunka fresh mozzarella.

Slice it into sticks…

Then slice the sticks into a dice.

Finally, grab a lot of fresh basil leaves. I started out with this amount and wound up doubling it. The salad screams for it!

Roll up the leaves…

And slice them thin.

Now everything’s ready!

Put the quinoa in a big, honkin’ bowl so you’ll have room to work.

Throw in the tomatoes…

And drizzle in 1/2 to 2/3 of the dressing.

Toss it all together gently…

And add the mozzarella and basil.

Then just toss it together! I also sprinkled in a little extra salt and pepper as I tossed, just to make sure it was adequately seasoned.

And this is where I decided it needed a lot more basil!

And that’s it, baby! It’s important at this point to taste a spoonful of the salad and make sure there’s enough dressing. You can go ahead and add the rest if you like, or you can just save the dressing for another use.

Now, you can serve it right away, but the salad is worlds better if you cover it with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours. The flavors are deeper and even more delicious!

When you’re ready to serve it up, just heap it in a pretty bowl and arrange little basil leaves all over the top.

Gorgeous!

And here’s the wonderful thing: the salad is even better the next day. I made this on a Sunday, and wound up noshing on it over the next 3 days. It never ceased to be delicious! The mozzarella slightly softens as it sits in the fridge, and the quinoa gets all mashed in and sticks to the cubes of cheese…and, well, as I said: Delicious.

Disclaimer: I would like to state for the record that my husband and sons would not touch this salad with a ten foot pole. But as is always the case when they turn their nose up at weird things, that just leaves more for me, man!

Variation: You can make a Greek version of this same salad by adding diced cucumber, red onion, and Feta cheese!

Here’s the handy dandy printable.

Recipe

Quinoa with Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 12

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 cups Red Quinoa
• 4 cups Water
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Red Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 cup Yellow Cherry Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 8 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella, Cut Into Small Cubes
• 24 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)

Preparation Instructions

Combine olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper in a jar. Put on the lid and shake vigorously. Set aside.

Prepare the quinoa by bringing 4 cups of water to a boil, then adding the quinoa. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Pour quinoa out onto a baking sheet and spread into a single layer to cool quickly.

Once the quinoa has cooled to room temperature, throw into a large bowl and toss in the tomatoes and mozzarella. Stir gently while adding 2/3 of the dressing. Stir in the basil. After everything is incorporated, give it a taste; add more dressing if it needs it, or reserve the rest of the dressing for another use. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

NOTE: It's best to make this at least a couple of hours ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Salad will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days; the mozzarella slightly softens as time passes, but it's still delicious!

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on May 15 2014