Crispy Gnocchi Salad with Quinoa

Ever since I discovered roasted gnocchi, I have absolutely adored it. I used to think that gnocchi had no taste and was too dense. Boy was I wrong! All you need is to throw it in a pan to get it nice and toasty on the outside yet light and fluffy on the inside!

Of course, you can top it off with sauce but I often find that pretty filling. Personally, I like it simply roasted.

You can have this tasty lunch on the table in less than fifteen minutes, and it tastes amazing!

I did use store-bought gnocchi for this recipe in order to make it a quick recipe in under 15 minutes. But if you have some spare time and want to create homemade gnocchi, you can find how easy and doable it is here!

How To cook quinoa

Knowing how to cook quinoa is valuable for creating quick and easy meals!

Quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it has all the essential amino acids, a trait you typically find in animal proteins.

There are several varieties of quinoa but in the grocery stores, you will mostly find them there, red, black, and white. Black quinoa has an earthier, nuttier flavor. Red quinoa is perfect for salads as it holds its shape and texture really well, and white quinoa has a more neutral flavor and it’s the most popular one. If you ask someone what color is quinoa they usually say white…

Cooking Quinoa in advance

I usually like to prepare the quinoa in advance if I know that my week would be busy. Here’s how to cook the quinoa…

Wash it before you cook, it’s really important to wash it a good rinse before cooking it. Washing the quinoa helps to get rid of a natural chemical compound that gives the quinoa a bitter or soapy flavor.

Measure out how much quinoa you want and place it into a mesh strainer, and hold it under running water and clean the quinoa seeds with your hands. Do it a few times until the water runs clear.

For 1 cup of quinoa, you’ll need 1 ¾  cup of boiling water. After you have measured the amount of quinoa you want, measure the water and heat it to start boiling. Add slightly more than 1 ¾ cup of water, because you’ll lose some of that water to evaporation.

Once the water is boiled, add salt, then add your washed quinoa. Let the water come back to boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes.

When you Take the quinoa off the heat, let it sit for a minute, then mix it up with a fork to make sure the seeds are nicely separated. Now, you have quinoa ready to serve or be stored away for another recipe.