Warm Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Lime

It's rare for me to buy fresh tomatoes out of season. Cherry tomatoes seem to travel better so I buy organic cherry tomatoes (grown in Mexico) for Larry's lunch salads all winter. They seem to taste okay, especially when dowsed in honey-balsamic salad dressing.

But the other day my local grocery store had organic vine-ripened tomatoes and I bought a few to stir into this warm salad of quinoa and black beans. The zest of the limes made the dish interesting, and the tomatoes added juiciness and color. I then went outside to encourage my tomato seedlings to grow faster — I'm ready for homegrown tomatoes.

Quinoa is a much-hyped high-protein grain. It's also really bitter, which is why I rinse it three times — the first time with boiling water. There's melted butter in the vinaigrette, which also helps soften the taste.

I came in from the garden and threw some black beans in the pressure cooker. While they were cooking (15 minutes once up to pressure), I cooked asparagus for our side dish, started the quinoa cooking, and whisked together the vinaigrettes for the asparagus and the quinoa salad. It took a little over 30 minutes to put dinner on the table, not too bad for a healthy meal made from scratch.

Warm Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and Lime
1/3 cup dry black beans (or 1 can)
1 cup quinoa
2 limes
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Pick over the beans to remove any stones or debris. Rinse them, then cook in boiling water until tender (about 2 hours) or pressure cook for 15 minutes. (If they're still a little hard when you reduce the pressure, put the lid back on and let them simmer until they're tender. Don't overcook them — you want them to hold their shape.) Drain the beans and set aside. (Or open the can of beans, rinse well and drain.)

Put the quinoa in a sieve and pour boiling water over it. Drain well, then pour cold water over it twice. This thorough rinsing will wash off the bitter saponins. Cook the quinoa in a pot of lightly salted water for about 10 minutes until tender but not soft — al dente if you will. Drain it, return it to the pot, and leave it covered, off the heat, to rest 5 minutes or so until you're ready to use it. It will absorb any remaining water and become fluffy and dry.

Grate the limes to make 2 tsp of zest. Squeeze 2 tbsp of lime juice into a large bowl. Add the zest, melted butter and vegetable oil. Whisk in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Add the black beans and stir well. If necessary, let the beans rest in the vinaigrette until the remaining ingredients are ready. Then toss in the quinoa, tomatoes, shallot and cilantro. Season with extra salt and pepper if needed.

Serves 4