Greek Spinach and Quinoa Salad
A flavorful, satisfying salad that combines spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, quinoa and feta cheese with a Greek-style dressing flavored with lemon juice and oregano.
Servings: 4 side dish or 2 main course servings
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup quinoa
- 1-1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 6 to 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or more to taste
- 1 medium cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 large tomato seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 3 to 4 ounces baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces feta cheese finely crumbled
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine strainer, drain and transfer it to a saucepan. Add the vegetable broth, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the quinoa is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes.
- While the quinoa cooks, whisk 4 tablespoons of olive oil together with the red wine vinegar, garlic and oregano. Once the quinoa is cooked, remove it from the heat, add the oil-vinegar mixture and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the cucumber, tomato, spinach and red onion. Drizzle with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper. Add the quinoa mixture and feta cheese, toss again and add more olive oil if needed.
- If desired, add 3/4 lb cooked chicken or shrimp to make 4 main course servings.