Quinoa Salad in Cucumber Boats
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
  • 4-6 cucumbers (depending on size)
Quinoa salad
  • ½ cup white quinoa
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup chopped raw whole almonds
  • ¼ chopped mint
  • ¼ cup chopped spinach
  • 1 medium (or large) green apple, cored and chopped into bite size chunks
Dressing
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • ½ teaspoon curry powder
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. In a medium pot, combine the quinoa and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the quiona is tender and the water is mostly absorbed.[Alternatively, you could follow the package instructions]
  2. Drain any excess water from the quinoa
  3. Once quinoa is cooked put it in a medium bowl and let cool while you prepare everything else.
  4. If you haven't yet chopped the almonds, mint, spinach, and apple do it now while the quinoa cools.
  5. Take 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and sprinkle it over the apples. This will help keep the apples from browning.
  6. Mix the almonds, mint, spinach and apple into the quinoa.
  7. Now for the dressing! In a small bowl mix together the honey, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and curry powder.
  8. Pour the dressing over the quiona salad. Alternatively, leave the dressing to the side so people can pour it on as they like.
  9. For the cucumber boats, cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Using a spoon scoop out the seeds and discard them. Cut the cucumbers into about 3" long pieces. This makes them easier to hold, eat, and pack into a lunch box.
  10. Spoon quinoa salad into the cavity of the cucumber boats. Fill as generously or as lightly as fits your taste.
  11. Optional: If you want to make a cucumber mast, set aside ½ of a cucumber. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the cucumber lengthwise to make sails. Make as many sails as you have cucumber boats. Using the tip of a sharp knife, make one small horizontal cut on both of the short ends of your cucumber sail. These are just small slits that will allow the mast to stick through. With the remaining cucumber, cut fat matchsticks. These need to be sturdy enough that if you hold them with your thumb and forefinger at the base, the rest will stand up fairly straight and not bend over. Bend a cucumber sail into a "U" and push the mast through the slits you cut. The finished product should look something like the letter "D." Now, in the bottom of your cucumber boats use a knife or a chop stick to stab a hole through the boat. The hole should be big enough to fit the mast you just made. Stick the base of your cucumber mast into the hole in the bottom of your boat. Now you have a cucumber boat! Fill with quinoa!
Recipe by Cooking is Messy at https://www.cookingismessy.com/2015/07/31/quinoa-salad-in-cucumber-boats/