Happy new year friends! It's taken me a full week to get back to blogging but I'm very excited to be back. Since it's the new year and I know a lot of you are trying to get back on the healthy track after the holidays, I've decided to start 2020 with a salad post. Okay, so it doesn't sound exciting but trust me, this Mediterranean salad is so good. It's so delicious that I had to name it "The Ultimate Mediterranean Salad." Tossed with crunchy almonds, soft boiled eggs, sweet peppers, and juicy tomatoes, you really can't go wrong.
The Ultimate Mediterranean Salad
Ingredients
Mediterranean Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Mediterranean Salad
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- 4 cups salad greens
- 2 eggs boiled
- ¼ cup peppadew peppers sliced
- ⅓ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado pitted and sliced
- ¼ cup Marcona almonds toasted
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill
Instructions
- Whisk together 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar with 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil until well combined. Set aside.
- Rinse ½ cup dry quinoa and combine with 1 cup cold water in a medium saucepot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until the water is evaporated and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Assemble the salads. Plate 2 cups salad greens per plate and top with cooked quinoa, boiled egg, peppadew peppers, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, Marcona almonds, fresh dill, and the Mediterranean vinaigrette. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
You might be looking over the recipe for this Mediterranean salad and be thinking, "wait, but do you really need a recipe for this salad?" It's true, the only thing you have to cook is the quinoa and the boiled egg but the secret is behind the ingredients. It may seem like a lot of ingredients but everything works so well together.
Start preparing the salad by cooking the quinoa. Believe it or not, people ask me all the time how to make perfect quinoa. You want to cook the quinoa with double the amount of water so if you're cooking 1 cup quinoa, add 2 cups water. Let it come to a boil, then add the lid and reduce the heat to a low simmer. When the quinoa is done, turn off the heat but keep the lid on for at least 5 minutes. The steam will help release any quinoa that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot.
While the quinoa is cooking, boil the eggs. I prefer the perfect 8-minute egg but hard-boiled or 6 or 7-minute eggs also work! You can also skip the eggs if you want to keep the salad vegan-friendly.
Now it's just a matter of assembling all of the ingredients. I recently have been on a peppadew binge because my local markets started carrying them. These African piquante peppers are sweet and slightly pickled, making them the perfect vessel for creamy cheeses.
Toss everything together with the Mediterranean vinaigrette and there you have the ultimate Mediterranean salad. Every time I make this salad, my husband always comments on how delicious it is. I thoroughly enjoy this meal every single time and I hope you do too!
For more salad inspiration check out this winter panzanella!
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