- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, thoroughly rinsed and drained (about 4 cups cooked)
- 2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
- 1 medium red pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and diced
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Sea salt
- 1 medium head red-leaf lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried, small inner leaves reserved for future use
- 2 ripe medium tomatoes, cored and cut in thin wedges
- 1 ripe avocado, pitted and thinly sliced
- 1 lime, cut in wedges
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1. Bring 2 3/4 cups water to boil in a small saucepan and stir in the quinoa and some salt. Return to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat, place corn kernels on top of quinoa, cover pan, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir corn into quinoa, remove from pan, and spread out on baking sheet to cool for about 20 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, oil, and salt to taste; set aside.
3. Place cooled quinoa and corn, red pepper, cucumber, scallions, jalapeno, and cilantro in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing (or more to taste) and salt to taste; mix until combined.
4. Arrange large lettuce leaves side by side in a circle around a large serving platter so the curly tops extend just beyond the platter rim. Mound quinoa salad in center.
5. Arrange tomato, avocado, and lime around quinoa on top of leaves. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over salad. Serve immediately or hold briefly at room temperature.
Serves 4.
Source: Whole Living: Body+Soul in Balance, July/August 2005, http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/quinoa-and-corn-salad-with-pumpkin-seeds.