Quinoa Salad

This salad has a wide variety of flavors that match well together--bitter mustard greens, sweet apricots and onions, mellow Brie. It's also pretty. I used 2 cups of mustard greens and that turned out to be a little too much for my taste, but it can easily be varied. Red quinoa is prettier but regular would be fine as well.

Quinoa Salad


1 cup red quinoa
1-2 cups chopped frozen (or fresh) mustard greens
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
10 dried apricots, quartered
about 2 oz. Brie cheese, in small cubes
2 tbsp olive oil plus more for sauteing
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 pinch dried basil
salt and pepper

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and two cups water to a boil. When boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer about 15 min, until all the water is absorbed and the spring-like germ has separated from the quinoa.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard greens (do not thaw if frozen; if not frozen, also add enough water to prevent them from burning). Saute over low heat about 10 more minutes, until the quinoa is nearly done. Combine greens/onions and quinoa in a large bowl. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. In a small cup, beat together the oil, vinegar, and mustard; pour over the quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Add the chopped apricots and Brie and toss. Chill and serve. Noticeably better the next day after the flavors have blended.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish.