Crab and Quinoa Salad
Yesterday I decided that all this rain we’ve been getting in Chicago marks the official start of spring, and thus the idea for this springy salad was born. I love this dish because it’s a full meal in a bowl. If you're feeling hungry though, you could do what I did and pair some delicious Trader Joe’s rosemary and raisin crisps with goat cheese to go along with it! I’ve been super into adding spinach into everything lately and the addition of the green spinach leaves in this salad really gives it a pop of spring color! I’ve also been craving crab lately and picked up a few cans of crab meat at the grocery store the other week. Canned crab is super versatile, fairly inexpensive (albeit more than canned tuna), and is great in a number of easy dishes. If you are sure to drain all the water out before fluffing up your crab with a fork, you’re sure to get a successful dish.
This yummy low-calorie dish makes three servings, but you can double it if you’re making dinner for the family. I ate one serving for dinner the night I made it, one for lunch the next day and TT#1 had some with some kale and sweet potato quesadillas (recipe to come soon) for dinner the other night. He is becoming quite the sous chef lately and it makes me so proud!
Ingredients:
1 can of crab meat
½ cup of Trader Joe's tri-color quinoa
1 cup of water or low-fat chicken stock
1 cup of spinach
¼ cup diced onion
1 mango
½ recipe of honey-lime vinaigrette (recipe below)
Directions:
Cook quinoa according to the package and set aside in a large shallow bowl and put it in the fridge to cool (you can even do this step the day before if you’re in a hurry since the full cooling process takes about an hour)
Prepare the vinaigrette by combining all ingredients and allow flavors to meld in the fridge
Once the quinoa has cooled in the fridge for about half an hour, pour half of the vinaigrette over the quinoa so it soaks it up and let it continue to cool for another half hour or longer
When you're ready to assemble the salad, drain water from crab meat and set aside in a bowl, fluff with a fork
Dice up onion and mango, chiffonade the spinach into small strips
Once the quinoa is fully cooled, toss all ingredients in and pour over rest of the vinaigrette and serve!
Honey-Lime Vinaigrette (adapted from The Yummy Life)
Ingredients and Directions:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together, or combine into a food processor, adding the oil last in both circumstances
Quinoa salad will keep up to 2-3 days in the fridge before getting soggy.
