Bite Of Minnesota: Summer Quinoa Salad

The summer produce has started to stack up at my house, which is pretty typical this time of year. Produce is plentiful at the market, but the heat can cause my cooking motivation to dip so I've been on the hunt for simple recipes that easily make use of my bounty.

Last week, Cooking Light tweeted a recipe for a summer quinoa salad using sweet corn, yellow squash and mint. The only cooked item was quinoa and I could easily do that in 15 minutes on the stovetop, so it was a no-brainer that I try this recipe in preparation for sweet corn season.

The recipe below serves four (or more if served as a side dish) and since quinoa is a great source of protein, there's no need to add chicken, beef or tofu to this dish. However, I did add one key ingredient that makes this salad really pop: marcona almonds. Usually found near the cheese at the grocery store, these almonds add a nice crunch to the salad and regular almonds can easily be substituted.

Summer Quinoa Salad
from Cooking Light
(serves 4)

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/3 cup sweet corn kernels (about 2 cobs)
1 cup grated yellow squash
2 oz. ricotta
¼ cup marcona almonds
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped

Rinse quinoa in a colander to remove outside coating. Add to a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Let cool.

In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, corn, squash and ricotta and toss gently to combine. Add marcona almonds and mint and toss again. Garnish with additional mint leaves and serve.