Feta Quinoa Salad with Roasted Peppers and Avocado

 

My son, Adil, is now 9 weeks.  The smoke is clearing from the insanity that follows having a newborn and my house is starting to have some semblance of normalcy.  There are exciting baby steps (no pun intended) when Adil sleeps in his bouncer for an hour instead of on my chest making me completely immobile, or that he sometimes needs milk after 3 hours instead of 2,  and there are those rare but amazing instances where I get a few hours of down time to myself!

I had one of those rare peaceful afternoons last Friday.  I went out for a long walk down to San Francisco Bay.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day; not too hot, a slight breeze, a perfectly blue and clear sky.  The sun was reflecting off the water with a beautiful view of the Golden Gate bridge and I could see sail boats in the distance.  Adil even fell asleep and we took the bus back skipping all the tiresome uphills on the way home.

After a rejuvenating morning, I was really in the mood for a good hearty salad.  My sister, Sana, was here to help out with the kids for 2 months and this quinoa salad was one of her delicious creations.  When I arrived home I ambitiously gave myself half an hour to make lunch, hoping the fresh air and long walk would buy me time with Adil who was asleep in his stroller.

I put the quinoa on the stove to cook for 25 minutes.  I then broiled a sliced red bell pepper in the oven until the edges were slightly charred and cut up an avocado.  For the dressing, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon to a few tablespoons of olive oil and added a pinch of salt and pepper.  After the quinoa finished cooking I fluffed it with a fork, added the roasted red peppers and avocado, and topped it with some crumbled feta I had in the fridge.  After mixing in the dressing I ate this delicious, flavorful, and hearty autumn salad.  The quinoa filled me up, the creaminess of the avocado with the sharpness of the red peppers and the saltiness of the crumbled feta really melded well together.  It was the perfect lunch after the lovely long walk that morning!

If you don’t have half an hour to spend on making lunch, which I almost never do, cook extra quinoa over the weekend and you can always broil the peppers in less than 10 minutes – the amount of time it will take to assemble the rest of the salad.  It will definitely be part of my lunch rotation from now on.

 

Feta Quinoa Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Avocado

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 1 cup uncooked Quinoa
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Avocado
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add 1 cup of quinoa to it.   Lower to medium heat and let simmer for 20 mins or until water has been absorbed.  Turn off the stove and leave for another 5 mins.  Fluff with a fork when ready to eat.

 

• While quinoa is cooking cut up the red bell pepper into thin slices and broil until the edges are charred.

• Cut up an avocado into slices and make the dressing by adding half a lemon to a few tablespoons of olive oil and then adding a pinch of salt and pepper.

• Once the quinoa is cooked transfer to a bowl and add the roasted red pepper, avocado, crumbled feta,and mix in the dressing.
• If you have pumpkin or sunflower seeds on hand they add a nice crunch but it is completely optional.

 

• Bon Appetit!