Quinoa is the perfect vehicle for summer vegetables: it's more substantial than couscous or rice and it kind of binds ingredients together. This simple version involves minimal cooking: just toss hot quinoa with black beans, chunks of ripe heirloom tomatoes, and crunchy scallions, and cover with a refreshing lemon dressing.
Cooking quinoa was once a bit of a mystery -- I had read a rather complicated recipe that called for steaming it in a towel towards the end of the cooking process. I find that it's fine to just pour off most of the cooking liquid and allow it to steam, covered, and it fluffs right up.
One of the most challenging parts of cooking quinoa, for me, is properly rinsing the quinoa. The holes in my sieve are just a little too big and I end up just barely holding on to the stuff. But the effort is well worth it; once cooked, the texture is unlike anything else.
This recipe lends it self to showcase practically any fresh vegetable, cut into small pieces and tossed into the mix. I've used fresh corn, bell peppers, and avocado as well as limes in place of lemons.

Black Bean and Heirloom Tomato Quinoa with Lemon Dressing
Serves 4 to 61 cup quinoa, rinsed several times and drained
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium heirloom tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Fill a heavy bottomed pot 3/4 full with water, add a tablespoon of salt and heat until boiling. Add quinoa and cook until almost tender, 10-15 minutes.
Wisk lemon zest, juice, butter, olive oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Drain quinoa and return to pot. Reduce heat to low and cook quinoa, covered, until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Fluff quinoa with a fork and toss with dressing. Add remaining ingredients and toss. Serve hot or room temperature.
More 6 Ingredient Recipes on The Kitchn:
• Summer Corn Salad
• Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame & Almonds
Related: How to Cook Quinoa
(Images: Stephanie Barlow)
Kart Serving Tray b...

Comments (10)
Same recipe was in a magazine. Called the 'loaded bowl'. Perfect for potlucks. Leave the cilantro and avacado out for people to add themselves. I know many people who are anti one or the other so they can still enjoy the salad.
I'm going to have to try this. I cooked quinoa a few weeks ago trying to do a "quinoa pilaf" but it ended up mushy/gummy. I enjoyed the flavor, but the texture was just strange.
Try the oven cooking method from Helen Rennie at Beyond Salmon:
http://www.beyondsalmon.com/2011/03/how-to-cook-quinoa.html
I did twice last week and I loved the results. The quinoa always ended up too mushy for me using the stove top method.
Yummmmy. I make this all the time, cept with lime and a bit of spice. Oh, and corn! I really do think steaming it makes for a fluffier grain, and it's really not much more of a hassle.
http://makingitwithmeleyna.com/472/
I make this dish a lot, except with lime, not lemon. I think I got it from one of my vegetarian cookbooks. It is delicious; even my omnivore fiance loves it.
I'm sorry to say that I made this salad today with lovely tomatoes from the farmers market and it was a bit blah. I'm going to add some spices and see if I can perk it up.
I always cook quinoa in a saucepan with 1:2 quinoa/water ratio, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat down to med-lo, cook 15 minutes, turn off heat and let sit 10 minutes and voila perfectly cooked quinoa that's absorbed all of the cooking water and is not mushy at all.
I made this the other day with Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend. It's a mixture of Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa. It was fabulous! The lemon zest and juice make the dish. Used a variety of heirloom tomatoes from my garden...yum. Thanks for the recipe!
I just made this and it was very bland. I normally do not cook my quinoa with salt so I added salt and pepper when I mixed it all together. And I do not understand why the butter was needed in the dressing. Olive oil and lemon juice make a fantastic dressing for a quinoa salad. I will tinker with this before making it again.
I use my french press to rinse quinoa. It works very well and no lost seeds.