Curried Turkey and Quinoa Salad

I was staring at all of the leftovers in my fridge trying to figure out what to make for dinner when inspiration struck. A curried turkey and couscous salad sounded pretty good. As I was reaching for the couscous I noticed the quinoa and thought that it would work even better. While the quinoa was cooking I chopped up some vegetables and threw together a quick dressing. I even found some mint that needed to be used. The curried turkey and quinoa salad turned out to be pretty amazing! The dressing was flavourful and nicely balanced. The mint which almost didn't make it into the salad, ended up being the star of the show making very bite refreshing. The crunchiness of the celery and the pecans went well with the tender quinoa and the chewy dried cranberries. This salad would likely do well without the turkey or with the turkey replaced by chicken. I have a feeling that I will be making this salad fairly often in the future.

Ingredients:
2 cups water (or stock)
1 cup quinoa
1 cup cooked turkey (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 carrot (grated)
1 stalk celery (chopped)
1 green onion (chopped)
1 handful dried cranberries
1 handful cup pecans (or walnuts)
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon chili sauce
1 tablespoon mint (chopped)

Directions:
1. Bring the water and quinoa to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and cover for 5 minutes.
4. Mix the turkey, carrots, celery, green onion, dried cranberries and pecans into the quinoa.
5. Mix the orange zest, soy sauce, cider vinegar, honey, curry powder, chili sauce, and mint in a bowl.
6. Pour the dressing onto the salad and mix.

Similar Recipes:
Quinoa Porridge
Aztec Quinoa Salad