This a light refreshing summer dish that I have adapted over the years from the Silver Palate Cookbook. It’s great as a side dish for a barbecue or on it’s own for lunch at a picnic. If you don’t like grapefruit, orange works equally well. The original recipe called for canned mandarin orange segments, which is even more convenient if need be. However, I find there is more zest and nutrition with fresh orange or grapefruit.
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented into small pieces
2 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup mint, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup walnuts, pine nuts or sunflower seeds
Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water, add salt to taste at the end of cooking and allow to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, sesame oil and green onions. Add grapefruit (be sure to add any grapefruit juice that remains on the cutting board for extra flavour) and nuts, mix gently. Serve at room temperature.
