Quinoa Salad with Pears, Baby Spinach and Chick Peas in a Maple Vinaigrette

By khoglan1

Ingredients

• First you'll need to make the quinoa:
• 1 cup organic quinoa
• Sea salt
• For the salad you'll need:
• 2 good handfuls of organic baby spinach leaves, washed, drained
• 1 large ripe pear, washed, stemmed and cored, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup chilled chick peas, rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• A handful of pecans, pan toasted and salted to taste
• For the Maple Vinaigrette Dressing:
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place the quinoa in a saucepan or a rice cooker. Add 2 cups fresh water, and a pinch of sea salt. Cover and cook on a low simmer until all the water is evaporated and the quinoa is tender- roughly 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork and dump it into a large salad bowl.

Add the baby spinach, pear, chick peas, and chopped parsley to the quinoa and fluff. Pour on the vinaigrette and toss gently to coat. Season to taste with sea salt and ground pepper.

Just before serving, add the toasted pecans and lightly combine.