I love quinoa year-round. Cold quinoa salad is so refreshing during the heat of the summer and hot quinoa dishes are so comforting during the dark and cold winter months. I have recently found that quinoa is a great addition to my back-to-school repertoire because these soy-ginger quinoa salad wraps, for example, can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator, ready to go for lunches, after-school snacks, and busy weeknight dinners.
This specific quinoa salad came about by accident. Whenever I have vegetables (and in this case deli meat, beans and spinach tortillas) to use up, my first thought is typically to make a batch of quinoa and turn everything into a salad. I added only a couple splashes of some Rikki’s Soy-Ginger dressing that we had, just enough to add some flavor without making the salad soupy. A quick homemade sweet and sour vinaigrette (with the optional addition of ginger) would also be an easy option. You can enjoy this soy-ginger quinoa salad as is, or for something different, transform it into wraps.
*It goes without saying that you can mix it up by using different veggie and dressing combos.
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- 2 ears of corn, cooked with corn removed from cob
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cucumber, chopped
- 1/4 of a red onion, chopped
- 1/4+ cup feta cheese
- Pinto or garbanzo beans, optional
- Cilantro, shredded, optional
- 2 Tbsp Soy-Ginger (or other) dressing, to taste
- Spinach, rinsed and patted dry
- Turkey or chicken deli meat
- Spinach tortillas
- Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions.
- Place the corn in a pot of water and bring the water to a boil.
- After a minute, put a lid on the pot and remove the pot from the heat, letting the corn simmer until done.
- Remove the cooked corn from the water and let cool until you can hold it to cut the corn off of the cob. (Or, if using already-cooked, leftover corn on the cob, slice the corn off of the cob.)
- Toss the quinoa with the veggies and feta cheese.
- Add dressing to taste – just enough for some flavor without making it soupy.
- Eat the salad as is or to make wraps, spoon some quinoa salad down the center of a spinach tortilla and top with slices of deli chicken or turkey and spinach.
- Cut the wrap in half or slice into pinwheels for an appetizer.
- Wraps can be made ahead of time, tightly-wrapped with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
