Quinoa and kale salad with roasted butternut squash

My first introduction to Quinoa was during our family backpacking trip to South America in 2007. It was a common ingredient in soup we ate in Peru and Bolivia and I loved its nuttiness and texture. When we returned home, it hadn't yet achieved its celebrated status in our North American diets, but has since become widely used for salads and side dishes.  Quinoa is a seed that is high in protein and is gluten free, and makes a great foundation for salad bowls. 

In the summer (who am I kidding, we do this year round) we often cook and/or chop up a bunch of ingredients and keep them in jars in the fridge for making Buddha Bowl lunches or dinners. With an abundance of kale in the garden, I decided to make this salad as a side for dinner one night.  It's easy to add extra ingredients to make this into a main dish.  I love it for its colour and variety of flavours.
​
The secret to using fresh kale in a salad is lemon juice and a nice massage. Not kidding.  Add the juice of half a lemon (about 1 tbsp or more) to a bowl full of kale and massage for a good five minutes.  Just like ceviche, the lemon juice "cooks" the kale and makes it tender and enjoyable to eat in a salad.  When cleaning the kale, be sure to trim the tough stems and veins and use the tender leaf part only.

---

Quinoa Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups soup stock or water
1 bunch kale
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 butternut squash
a lug of olive oil
salt and pepper
4 green onion, chopped
1 cup purple cabbage (chopped)
1 red pepper, diced/chopped

Optional:
feta or grilled Halloumi cheese (or other fave cheese)
avocado
cold leftover meat (chicken/beef)
cooked shrimp
1 can chick peas, drained
toasted nuts/seed (like almonds or pumpkin seeds)

1. Preheat over to 350. Peel, seed and chop butternut squash, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until tender and a little brown. Cool.
2. Rinse quinoa and add to a medium sized pot along with stock or water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on very low heat until tender and the quinoa seeds split into a curl, about 20 minutes. Cool. (I was told by the Quechua cooks in Peru and Bolivian NOT to add salt until after cooking as it makes the quinoa bitter.)
3. Chop kale and add to a large bowl. Add lemon juice and massage for 3-5 minutes until kale is tender. Sprinkle with a little salt.
4. Chop remaining ingredients and toss together with quinoa, kale and squash.
5. Use the salad as a base for a meal and add some of the optional ingredients or come up with fresh combinations of your own.
6. Serve with your favourite dressing.  I've included mine below.

Salad Dressing

Ingredients
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
dash of Heartbeat Hot Sauce (or Siracha)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Method
Mix all ingredients together in a jar and shake to combine.

Optional Ingredients:
I often add additional ingredients depending on the salad I'm making:

• garlic, pressed or minced (let dressing sit for a bit before using)
  
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves (with feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumber)
• a squirt of Dijon mustard (with chicken and goat cheese)
• substitute red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar and add a clove of garlic for a spinach steak salad
• substitute balsamic vinegar and add a clove of garlic for a new flavour
• curry for a cous cous salad (throw in a handful of raisins and some pine nuts, too)