Attentive readers might notice that this has been a summer of mango and cucumber and black beans. It isn’t over ’til it’s over, y’all, so here is a recipe for black bean mango quinoa salad that contains all three!
This recipe goes out to my Canadian aunt. My family isn’t particularly close, but I’ve always thought she was one of my coolest blood relations. She’s always had amazing photography skills, and has been nonchalantly whipping up inventive, healthy meals from scratch as long as I can remember (i.e. way before it was cool). In short, she’d probably make a much better food blogger than I do. But I digress! She’s younger and crunchier than my parents, and when she and her family were living in Ithaca in the late 80s, she gave my mother a cookbook from Ithaca’s renowned vegetarian(-ish) Moosewood Restaurant. I’m convinced that this cookbook, which my mother actually loved, was the only reason she even remotely tolerated my going vegetarian in 2001. Familiarity breeds comfort, after all!
When my aunt caught wind of my having a vegan food blog several years ago, she asked if I had any good recipes for quinoa. At the time, I was fresh out of college, and I kind of thought quinoa was revolting. You see, the only exposure I’d ever had to this humble grain was at house dinners inside the veg* co-op where I lived in college. Every few nights, someone would cook up a monstrous pot of plain quinoa, and it was always, always burnt. If you don’t know already, believe me when I tell you that burnt quinoa is utterly repulsive. Of course, I had never eaten quinoa anywhere else, so I just thought that was how quinoa tasted. Regardless, I felt crappy for not having some awesome vegan recipe up my sleeve to give my aunt.
I might’ve learned how to cook quinoa properly in the ensuing years, but I was weirded out by the whole quinoa-loving-vegans–kill-babies scam*, and only started eating it regularly this very year. Consequentially, I think it is pretty much the perfect grain, and have been putting it in everything, from overnight oats and breakfast porridge to smoothies and granola. It’s perfect in cold salads because it’s a hearty base that soaks up whatever flavors you throw at it, and doesn’t harden when chilled like some grains do. Everyone should have at least one good quinoa salad recipe up their sleeve, so without further ado, here is one of mine!
- 1 c quinoa, rinsed
- 2 c water
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
- ¾ c cooked black beans, rinsed well
- ⅓ c cucumber, diced
- ¼ c red onion, finely chopped
- ⅓ c cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- ¾ tsp salt
- Combine quinoa and water in a small, lidded pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until quinoa is tender and has absorbed all the water. Remove lid, fluff, and set aside to cool.
- When quinoa is mostly cool, combine it in a serving dish with the remaining ingredients. Toss well.
- Serve immediately, or well-chilled.
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*I don’t mean to be too pat about this. Please check out the linked articles (and, y’know, Google!) if you’re interested in learning more. But it’s a fact that the media (and throngs of guilt-ridden omnivores) had an absolute field day lambasting vegans over quinoa consumption. Of course, I found this exceptionally infuriating at the time, as the only people I knew who loved quinoa were health-conscious omnis!
9 comments
lysette says:
Sep 11, 2014
Now I really want to know how bad burnt quinoa tastes. I’ve only ever had a love affair with quinoa… no, there was a time I bought quinoa flakes and they were so bitter. I held the bag up, cursing its price tag. I felt guilty about quinoa, then heard the two guys making the documentary saying; no no, don’t gut this industry for the farmers, they were happy to be bringing in enough money and eat things other than quinoa.
claryn says:
Sep 14, 2014
Okay, here’s what you do: take 5 cups of quinoa, 10 cups of water, and put them in the biggest, thinnest-bottomed pot you can find. Turn the heat on high, and leave it for 45 minutes, or until smoke starts pluming out of the lid. At this point, there should be a black crust 1-2″ high at the bottom of your pot. Turn the heat off and stir, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot while you do. And voilà ! Your entire pot of quinoa will magically be infused with the unmistakable scent (and flavor!) of burning!
I haven’t tried quinoa flakes, and now I probably won’t. 😉
lysette says:
Sep 16, 2014
Mmmm, smokey. Thanks for the recipe! Hmmm, seems pretty straight forward, with ple-nty of leftovers. I deem this Scorched Quinoa recipe: Five stars *****
claryn says:
Sep 16, 2014
You’ll be glad that there are leftovers, because this dish is even better if you let it sit in the fridge for a week or two. You know it’s ready when the top just starts to get green and fuzzy. 😉
Bianca says:
Sep 11, 2014
Yum yum yum! Love quinoa!! Will have to try this asap. The mango is what caught my eye 🙂 xx Bianca
Sarah says:
Sep 17, 2014
This looks so good! I’ll definitely be giving it a go.
Alexa says:
Apr 4, 2015
I quinoa cheaper in your country? I live in Poland, and this thing is idioticly expensive, like damn eight times more expensive than any other grain. I hate this hype for quinoa, even if it’s tasty and nutritious, damn buckwheat groats also are healthy and delicious, and cheap, at least out there. I never had quinoa, becouse it’s absurd to pay that much for groats. Is this thing as cheap as some fancy rice in your country?
And there is a hype for millet. Becouse it’s gluten-free, and there are not only coeliacs, but also people with imaginay health problems, damn. “Cheescake” with filling made from millet (I hate also tofu-based cheescakes, haven’t found any vegan cheescake tasting as good as it looks, they are terribly disappointing). “Yoghurt” made from millet. With mango. How anyone could do this to innocent mango?
Damn. Vegans make everything from terribly expensive quinoa, or bland and yucky millet? I haven’t even tried quinoa, but I alredy hate it, becouse everyone eats ton of it and excites about it, and it’s terribly, idioticly expensive.
claryn says:
Apr 7, 2015
Hahaha. Yes, quinoa is quite cheap where I live. I feel your pain, though — I’m not one for expensive food trends myself. If you find recipes involving quinoa that interest you, you can always try making them with a grain that’s more affordable where you live. Otherwise, don’t let it get you down — there are a zillion recipes on the web, and not all of them are for everyone.
Alexa says:
Apr 7, 2015
Yay, funny thing that quinoa hype is also on Polish blogs. I guess this people do this for tastier alternative of simply putting some paper money in their salad 😉 Oh, sometimes I buy expensive things, but grains are suposed to be cheap. Coconut milk is a bit expensive, but my vegan-whipped-cream-addiction needs it 😛 Rice “milk chocolate” is also more priority for me than some fancy pseudograin 😛 Btw. try buckwheat, if it’s avalible in your place. You can try it served just like rice with some vegan stew. This thing has damn vegan potential, trust me.