Recipe - Quinoa Salad And Dressing

1 cup Quinoa
2 cup Water
Salt
6 Dried apricots; finely minced
2 tablespoon Chives; minced, =OR=
3 small Scallions, thinly cut or sliced up
4 tablespoon Dried currants
softened in hot water
and squeezed dry
3 tablespoon Yellow or green peppers
finely minced
3 tablespoon Pine nuts

SALAD DRESSING
1 Lemon, grated zest only
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
2 teaspoon Finely chopped cilantro
=OR= Parsley
One fourth teaspoon Paprika
One fourth teaspoon Ground cumin
One fourth teaspoon Ground coriander seeds
Salt
One fourth cup Olive oil

SALAD: Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a bowl of cold water. Then pour into
a finemesh strainer and rinse again under running water. Bring 2 cups of
water to a boil, add salt, then stir in the quinoa. Lower the heat, cover
the pan and cook 15 minutes. Taste the grainsthere should be just a
little resistance and the opaque, spiralled ring of germ should show. If
necessary, continue cooking until done, then pour into a strainer and set
aside to drain over a bowl. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium
heat until they are golden brown and set them aside. Make the salad
dressing and toss the warm quinoa with the fruits, vegetables, pine nuts
and dressing. Serve piled onto a platter.

SALAD DRESSING: Combine lemon zest, juice, spices, herbs and salt together
in a bowl. Stir to combine, then whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust
the balance of flavors, adding lemon juice if necessary. Serves 4,
generously.

DEBORAH MADISON PRODIGY GUEST CHEFS COOKBOOK

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini