Kalamata Collard Quinoa Salad |Cooking With Amanda

I always prefer to sauté green leaves, especially if these greens have a strong taste when they are eaten raw. Kale and collards are my two favorite green leaves to sauté in a good extra virgin olive oil because they taste much better when sautéed.

I love kale or collard in my chili and my meatballs, because they are cooked. Even in my salads, I prefer to cook (sauté or steam) because I love them soft and silky.

Now, of course, you don't need to cook your collards or kale to enjoy this salad. If you wish, you can slice them into very fine ribbons and season with lemon juice. This way, the rough texture and slightly bitter taste of these two green leaves will combine perfectly with the lemon juice.

Why I am talking about kale in this post if the recipe calls for collard greens? It is just because I would like to give you another option, in case you don't have any collards in your fridge. You can also make this recipe with spinach and it will be great too. Now that you have three choices of greens - you can't give any excuse to prepare this warm and delicious recipe!

Another great ingredient of this easy recipe is quinoa, which is a near-perfect food and a pseudo grain, high in protein. Like I said, this recipe is so easy, especially because I cooked my quinoa ahead of time. For me it is one of the best ways to save time in the kitchen.

You can make a big batch of quinoa in only 15 minutes, and keep it in the fridge for about one week or for months in the freezer. You can put your cooked quinoa inside sandwich-sized bags, which hold about two cups of cooked quinoa.

When it is time to use your cooked quinoa, you just have to take your plastic bag out of the freezer and defrost at room temperature. This will probably save you a ton of time because you will want to make your quinoa salad and only need to cut the veggies and assemble your salad when it is time to eat. It doesn't get quicker than that!

To wrap everything really well together, add some delicious and juicy kalamata olives into you salad and enjoy this delicious meal at any time.

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Kalamata Collard Quinoa Salad Recipe

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups uncooked collard greens, 133 grams
2 tablespoons olive oil, 28 grams
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups mushrooms, diced, 230 grams
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced, 70 grams
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup kalamata olive, 70 grams
salt and pepper

Directions

Cut and trim the stems away from the collard greens.
Stack a few the leaves on top of each other, roll tightly and slice the leaves.
Wash and set aside to drain.
In a saucepan, add the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add mushroom and yellow pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 7 minutes or so.
Turn the heat to low and add the collard greens, stirring until wilted.
Finally, add the cooled quinoa and kalamata olives and stir well.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.