Quinoa Caprese

This seems to be the week where I keep going back to old favorites and re-posting recipes that I have already posted here in some form or another.  That's kind of sad considering I started this blog in December, but they wouldn't be old favorites if I didn't keep making them.  And, in my defense, I hadn't posted pictures of either of the two recipes that I re-posted this week because they had both been included in posts with multiple recipes.  So this time my Quinoa Caprese and my Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits get posts of their very own, with pictures and everything.

This salad is one of my favorite light summertime lunches.  It would also be a fantastic picnic lunch or potluck dinner dish.  It is divine when tomatoes and basil are in season and you can grab pints of mini-heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market.  Yum.  I am getting all excited just thinking about tomatoes at the farmer's market.  But since these little cherry tomatoes from Fairway looked pretty delicious, even out of season, and since it was so wonderfully warm out today, I couldn't resist my craving for this salad.  I can't get enough of the way the sweet, but tangy tomatoes, pair with the creamy mozzarella cheese, fragrant basil and nutty quinoa.  And then there's that lemon vinaigrette to tie it all together.  I could wait until summertime to enjoy, but why deprive myself of something so healthy, yet tasty?

Recipe after the jump!

Quinoa Caprese

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Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

14 oz low sodium chicken broth

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

10 bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella balls), halved

1 cup torn basil leaves

2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp evoo (garlic or basil oil if you have it)

salt & pepper

Rinse quinoa thoroughly.  Bring broth to boil in medium saucepan.  Add quinoa, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 12-15 minutes until tender and liquid has been absorbed.  Fluff quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl to cool for 15 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.  Combine lemon juice and oil, stir to blend.  Pour over quinoa mix and toss well.  Season to taste with s&p.