Quinoa Salad With Chicken, Almonds and Avocado
Updated August 17, 2018
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Ali Slagle.
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 cups tricolor quinoa (12 ounces), rinsed well and drained
¼ cup finely diced shallot or onion
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups leftover chicken meat, torn from a rotisserie bird
¾ cup dried cranberries
2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup roasted salted almonds, chopped
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
61 grams carbs; 53 milligrams cholesterol; 605 calories; 18 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 29 grams fat; 10 grams fiber; 574 milligrams sodium; 28 grams protein; 16 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.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to a boil. Add quinoa and boil, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, whisk the shallot, vinegar, mustard, oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a very large bowl. When quinoa is done, drain very well, then add to the dressing, along with the chicken, cranberries and parsley. Fold until evenly mixed and cooled, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Divide the salad among dishes and top with the chopped almonds and avocado.
It’s fastest and easiest to rinse grains in a sieve. Simply run cold water over them while gently shaking the sieve, then gently shake dry. It’s important to rinse grains to clean them and in the case of quinoa, to remove saponins, which can leave a bitter or soapy aftertaste. As it’s also tough to get flavors into grains once they’re cooked, it's a good idea to season them with salt at this point.
Private Notes
Comments
A terrific base. Omitted chicken to make vegetarian. For dinner, I added roasted asparagus. For tomorrow’s lunch, I’ll add diced apple and cheese.
Quinoa is not cooked like pasta (in lots of boiling, salty water) but like other grains with just enough water so that it's absorbed in the cooking process. I used 9 ounces Lundberg tricolor quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 tsp salt cooked for about 20 minutes until all the water was absorbed and the quinoa was fluffy (follow package directions). I cut the chopped parsley to 1 1/2 cups for the reduced amount of quinoa but kept all the other ingredients the same. Still served 4 nicely.
Just had this for dinner. It was delicious, and I'll definitely make it again. My only modification would be in the proportion of chicken to quinoa: more chicken and less quinoa would be my preference. In other words, I would probably make perhaps 8 ounces of quinoa with 2+ cups of chicken. Then of course I'd have to make adjustments to the quantities for the dressing. But it was a little on the dry side, so maybe I'd cut it back by 1/4 instead of 1/3.
I agree that the quinoa to chicken ratio was off - which made the dressing too light. Next time, I’ll cook the (smaller amount of) quinoa in chicken broth and will add some more veggies (spinach/tomatoes/zucchini). This time, I added shredded carrots as the quinoa finished cooking.
I made this with the ratios as written (only substituted walnuts for almonds because that's what I had on hand). I do not think the dressing ratio is off, personally. The water I cook my quinoa in is usually very salty though, which might be important for overall flavor.
Loved it but found it a bit dry. Would definitely add more dressing