KITCHEN CURATIONS: CURRY QUINOA CONFETTI

Now this dish a real crowd pleaser! Literally every single person who has ever tried it has fallen in love with it. So when I'm having a lot of people over, this is one of those go-to recipes. It looks pretty and I know everyone will be happy. It's also super easy to scale up for large groups so whether I'm having four or fourteen people, it basically takes the same amount of time to make. And, if I have leftovers, I ain't mad about it! In fact, I actually think that the longer this salad sits in the fridge, the better it tastes.

Like all of my recipes, this one is totally doable for any home cook. There may be a long list of ingredients, but please don't get intimidated! There are only two cooked components (two!), and everything else can be mixed right in. 

So do yourself a favor, just screen shot this recipe so that the next time you do a grocery run you can pick up the ingredients and you'l be halfway there. The point is not to overthink it, just do it! You and your guests will thank me later. ;)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 cup zante currants
• 1 15.5 oz can low sodium chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
• 1 cup chopped fire roasted red peppers or sweet piquante peppers
• 1/2 cup sliced scallion
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add in onion, curry, and turmeric. Sauté onions until tender and coated in spices.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and sautéed onion.
3. Mix together.
4. Refrigerate and serve!

A few notes about this recipe:

1. Didn't I say the directions were easy? I'd never lie to you!
2. Zante currants are smaller and tarter than raisins. You can use raisins, but I particularly like the currants in this dish. They don't get soggy and they add a great punch of flavor to every bite!
3. Similarly, you can opt to use regular roasted red peppers instead of the fire roasted peppers or sweet piquante peppers. However, I really like the spicy kick from the fire roasted peppers and sweet piquante peppers. 
4. Finally, you can likely substitute apple cider vinegar for the regular distilled white vinegar, but I've just always made it this way. I also think that with so much going on elsewhere in this dish, the neutral acidity of the white vinegar works well.
5. Bottom line, you do you!