Mediterranean Cucumber and Yogurt Salad With Red or Black Quinoa

By Martha Rose Shulman

Published June 19, 2014

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(87)
Comments
Read comments

The idea of embellishing a yogurt soup or salad with quinoa comes from Deborah Madison, who uses black quinoa in a brilliant recipe for a soup in her book “Vegetable Literacy.” I used red quinoa to add texture, color and substance to this typical Mediterranean combination – finely diced cucumber, garlic, and thick plain yogurt. Use mint or dill, or a combination, and make sure to dice the cucumber very small.

Featured in: 50 Ways to Love Your Quinoa

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4

  • 2 to 2 ½ cups finely diced cucumber (use a seedless variety such as a long hothouse cucumber, a Japanese cucumber or Persian cucumbers)

  • Salt

  • 1 ½ to 2 cups plain Greek yogurt or drained yogurt (to taste)

  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), cut in half, green shoots removed, and mashed to a paste in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons (to taste) chopped fresh dill or mint

  • Freshly ground pepper

  • 1 cup cooked red or black quinoa

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

34 grams carbs; 17 milligrams cholesterol; 278 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 533 milligrams sodium; 16 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toss cucumber with a generous amount of salt and leave in a colander in the sink to sweat for 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels (rinse first if the cucumber tastes very salty).

  2. Step 2

    Spoon yogurt into a salad bowl and mix with garlic. Stir in cucumber. Add freshly ground pepper (I like a generous amount), taste and adjust salt. Sprinkle dill or mint on top.

  3. Step 3

    Spoon quinoa over salad and serve, or divide salad among 4 bowls or plates and top each serving with ¼ cup quinoa.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
87 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

bluetomatoes

Not really tasty, tbh.

Dolce

I added garlic powder & thyme to the quinoa while it cooked for some more flavor. I also added a whole garlic bulb, even though I was making the recipe for one. I finished with a drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil & it was delicious! Perfect for a hot summer day.

sam

This is a common side dish in eastern Mediterranean (Syria, Lebanon). But without the quinoa (which is a great idea) Very tasty and refreshing in the summer. The yogurt has to be super consistent and smooth with a little bit of water but bit too watery. Try sparkly water too!

Jack K

I made a variation of this without quinoa as a side for falafel (from another nyt recipe). I added 4 cloves of garlic instead of 1-2. It was very good.

Dolce

I added garlic powder & thyme to the quinoa while it cooked for some more flavor. I also added a whole garlic bulb, even though I was making the recipe for one. I finished with a drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil & it was delicious! Perfect for a hot summer day.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.