Quinoa Tabouli

There’s no better time of year to make tabouli and while it’s traditionally made with barley, quinoa is both quicker and lighter for a summer meal. Start by cooking a cup of quinoa in 1 ¼ cups of water with a bit of salt in a covered saucepan, after ten minutes remove from the heat and leave covered.

While your quinoa rests mince a garlic clove and combine with the juice of half a lemon in a small bowl. After that, fluff up your quinoa with a fork and place it in a large bowl to cool. Now it’s all about chopping. Into a separate large bowl chop up a couple medium tomatoes, a large cucumber, a full bunch of parsley, a handful of mint, and half a red onion. I had some green beans around so I chopped those up and threw them in as well.

When you’re ready to serve combine all of your chopped veggies and herbs with the cooled quinoa then toss with the lemon juice, half a cup of extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. This is the bounty of summer at its best.