Mango Quinoa Salad with Orange Cardamom Dressing

With summer coming to a close, I’m desperately clinging to all the seasonal fruit I can get my hands on.  Bar none, mango is my absolute favorite fruit.  I rarely cook or use it in a dish because I always end up eating it just as it is.  However, when I recently tried a mango salsa, I was motivated to start using it in dishes to give a vibrancy to capture the essence of summer.

I developed this recipe to satisfy my sweet tooth and also to add to my breakfast/brunch options.  Combining mango and mint with earthy quinoa, raisins and nuts offers different dimensions of flavor in a dish that packs a nutritional punch.  Adding the orange-honey-cardamom dressing is just the icing on the healthy cake.

Fruity Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups water
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/8 cup golden raisins, roughly chopped
• 1/4 nuts (I used a mix of chopped almonds, pecans, cashews and walnuts)
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Directions:

• Cook the quinoa.  Heat a saucepan over medium heat.  Roast the quinoa for about 3 minutes in the hot saucepan, stirring occasionally.  Add water, stir and turn up heat to medium high and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to simmer and cover with a lid.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Turn off stove and remove from the heat for about 5 minutes.  Uncover and fluff with a fork.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• In a pan, melt butter and add raisins and nuts.  Stir to coat and cook until the raisins plump up a bit and the nuts a roasted, about 5 minutes.  Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, add the quinoa, nut mixture, mango and mint.
• In a small bowl, mix together the orange zest, orange juice, vanilla extract and cardamom.  Pour over salad until fully coated.
• Let mixture sit for about 15 minutes before serving.