Quinoa and black bean salad

An article on The Age directed me to this salad a while ago which I have brought along to BBQ's several times. It's a nice salad full of lovely flavours and packed full of protein. This time I changed it up a little by using red and white quinoa, modifying the spices a little and using less oil. It makes quite a decent quantity and the leftovers keep well for days in the fridge.

I also made a dip to bring to the BBQ which will be written up in another post soon...

Quinoa and black bean salad (Adapted from a recipe on aicr.org)

1/2 cup white quinoa
1/2 cup red quinoa
1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 x 310g tin corn kernels, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small red capsicum, seeded and chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped fine
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve. Place quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 20 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked. Fluff quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool.

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans and corn with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Add beans, corn, capsicum, spring onions, garlic, cayenne, smoked paprika and coriander to the quinoa. Mix thoroughly.

In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, salt, cumin and oil. Drizzle over salad and toss well. Salad may be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Serve at room temperature.