Festive Recipes/ Lenten/ Recipes/ Salads/ Savory/ Vegan/ Vegetables/ Vegetarian

Quinoa Salad with Cilantro & Grilled Mango

Today I have for you the most colorful salad for your festive table; a lightweight and unique combination, with exotic overtones and great materials. A salad with quinoa, fresh cilantro, grilled mango, fennel seeds and pomegranate, a must for this season. The dressing, slightly spicy, blends with the other ingredients and gives a very aromatic sweet and sour result.

Mango is a fruit rich in beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidants which is the shield of the organism against many types of cancer. It is also rich in another carotenoid called lycopene, which is another powerful antioxidant and essential for the protection of cells and suppress tumor growth.

Only one mango provides almost the total daily needs of the organism in vitamin C, and vitamin D (necessary for eye health). Unlike many other fruits, mango is rich in several B vitamins, calcium and magnesium.

Complex carbohydrates such as mango, help to boost metabolism so your body burns more calories. Choose a mango over a calorie-rich dessert and you will not lose.

Cilantro has analgesic, antispasmodic and antiseptic properties and is believed to help fight stress, migraine, arthritis and muscle pain.

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

For the salad:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 ripe mango, cut into rings
seeds of ½ pomegranate
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil

For the dressing:

½ tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon chile flakes (or, according to taste)
a pinch of ground coriander
1 teaspoon honey, or, agave syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper

Instructions:

Cook quinoa (instructions here).
Put the grill pan over medium heat and pour half of the olive oil. Let it warm up and place the slices of mango. Pour over mango slices the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with fennel seeds. Grill mango for about 3 minutes on each side to get the stripes from the grill pan. Leave to cool.
In a bowl, add all of the salad ingredients except fruits and mix well. Then, add the grilled mango and pomegranate seeds.
Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together.
Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and stir carefully. Let the salad stand for 15 minutes for the dressing to get incorporated.

Enjoy the quinoa salad with cilantro and mango with your favorite glass of wine!!

Nutritional Facts per Serving
Calories	Carbohydrates	Sugars	Total Fat	Saturated Fat	Proteins	Dietary Fibers	Cholesterol
343.7	43.8	10.1	16.6	1.9	7.0	4.6	0.0