Quinoa Tabouli Salad

By Claire Georgiou, Reboot Naturopath, B.HSc ND

I love Lebanese food with all the delicious vegetable dishes, falafel and amazing dips, so I decided to make a traditional Lebanese vegetarian dish with a twist. This is a great easy dish to serve on a mezze plate, as a side dish or as a complete meal. I enjoyed this for dinner with some home caught bream (my dad not me) and for lunch with some extra avocado slices and fresh sliced chilies. Yum Yum! Traditionally you are supposed to de-seed the cucumber and tomato but I want the entire wholefood so I say, throw it all in!

Ingredients

Ingredients:

1 cup (250 g) cooked quinoa
2 large handfuls of flat leaf parsley, chopped coarsely
1 handful of mint leaves, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced
4 shallots (scallions), chopped finely
2 cucumbers, diced
1 avocado, sliced (as a garnish)

Dressing:

1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 – 2 fresh garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook quinoa as directed (add 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all water is evaporated.)

2. Rinse all produce. Then chop parsley, mint, and shallots, dice the tomato and cucumbers, slice the avocado and add ingredients into a large bowl. You may need to use your hands to help toss.

3. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.

4. Add dressing to salad — use more or less as you like! Then serve and enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 2 - 4

Substitutions

Quinoa – lentils, split peas, wild rice, burghul
Parsley – curly parsley
Mint – cilantro
Shallots (scallions) – red onion, spring onions
Cucumber – Green pepper (capsicum)
Olive oil – avocado oil, flaxseed or hemp seed oil
Lemon juice – apple cider vinegar

Calories: 320

Fat: 23g

Trans Fat: 3g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 170mg

Carbohydrates: 27g

Fiber: 8g

Sugars: 6g

Protein: 6g