With Easter coming I have been thinking about menu ideas and one of them involved an apricot theme so I was looking for an appropriate side dish and I was thinking that a Mediterranean style couscous salad would be perfect. I have really been into quinoa lately so I replaced the couscous with quinoa and I added some chopped dried apricots to the quinoa while it cooked so that they would get nice and soft and tender. After that I added a complement of fresh herbs including mint, parsley and green onions along with some slivered almonds. The salad is finished off with a simple ‘dressing’ based around apricot preserves, lemon juice and ginger. This apricot quinoa salad is amazingly light, fresh and tasty and the mint really brings it home; it’s a fabulous side for any meal!
Apricot Quinoa Salad
A light and tasty apricot quinoa salad packed with fresh herbs.
ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/4 cup green onions, sliced
- 1/4 cup mint, chopped or julienned
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
- 3 tablespoons apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ginger, grated
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Bring the water, quinoa and dried apricots to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed the water, about 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, covered.
- Mix the quinoa, almonds, green onions and mint and toss with the mixture of the apricot preserves, oil, lemon juice, ginger, salt and pepper.
We Are Not Martha says
March 25, 2015 at 12:05 pmI'm a big fan of quinoa salads and this one looks super unique and flavorful!
Sues
Kelly says
March 25, 2015 at 2:22 pmI love apricots! This looks delicious!
Liz says
March 25, 2015 at 9:29 pmThank you for the nice recipe.
Erin Gribben says
March 26, 2015 at 10:22 amKevin – This quinoa salad looks amazing. I love the use of the apricots in here to add some sweetness to the dish. 🙂
Joanne says
March 26, 2015 at 11:19 amI love the idea of an apricot themed Easter menu! It's such a great spring flavor. this salad looks like the perfect side!
Kate @ Babaganosh.org says
March 26, 2015 at 5:14 pmLoving all the apricot recipes! This is a great idea to add some sweetness to quinoa.
Nette Smith says
June 24, 2017 at 9:49 pmI just found your blog and made this with the Apricot Glazed Salmon. Both were delicious!!! Can't wait to try more recipes!!!