Technically there is nothing German about this salad besides the mustard, but my friend and I invented and lived off of it when we were there together. It was basically designed around creating a nutritious and palatable way to eat large amounts of basil. Unfortunately basil plants never last long around me, I tend to eat them far too quickly and they whither out and die on me. Like all leafy greens, basil is very high in several vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, especially vitamin K, calcium and iron.
German Basil Quinoa Salad
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- ¼ cup cold pressed olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
- To cook the quinoa, place it in a large sauce pan with 2 cups of water over the stove on high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit, with the lid still on, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and make sure it cools before adding everything except the delicate basil in a large bowl and mix together well. Now carefully rinse and destem the basil leaves, dry them in paper towel and then rip in desired sized pieces. I find this the best way to keep it from going black, as it inevitably does when cut with a metal knife.
