Pomegranate Cranberry Quinoa Salad
I think I’m probably the last food blogger to try quinoa. Seriously, I don’t know what was holding me back for so long, but once I tried it I never looked back.
You want to know another food that I’ve never tried until now? Pomegranate. Lame? Yes. But hey, I’m putting myself out there and trying these new foods. Better late than never. I saw this recipe pop up on Katie’s blog soon after watching the Good Eats episode about pomegranates. Alton Brown said that pomegranates or their seeds will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 months! So you could grab some at the store now while they’re in season and still be enjoying them in the spring.
Hubby and I thouroughly enjoyed this quinoa salad. The pomegranate seeds provide not only sweetness but also a fun little burst of juice and a crunch as you bite into them. I made two batches of this colorful side dish in one weekend we enjoyed it so much!
What new foods have you been wanting to try?
One Year Ago: Gingerbread Apple Upside Down Cake and Gooey Bars
Two Years Ago: Inauguration Day Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Clam Chowder
Pomegranate Cranberry Quinoa Salad
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Juice of 1/2 an orange
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs slivered almonds
Directions:
Start by bringing the chicken stock to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and reduce head to low. Let the quinoa simmer until the liquid has evaporated.
Once the quinoa is done, set it aside and let it cool slightly.
Once the quinoa has cooled slightly, add the orange juice and cranberries. Toss to combine, salt and pepper to taste. Gently mix in the pomegranate seeds and top with almonds. Serve either warm, room temperature or cold.
Recipe from The Small Boston Kitchen
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Looks delicious! Goat cheese & fig is a timeless flavor combination :).
Everything about these cute little bites looks amazing. I’m dreaming about all the wonderful flavors as I type right now.
Wandered over here from the Indecisive Baker blog and love it. Looking forward to reading more of your blog posts.
I love everything about this recipe!
I love ANYTHING with caramelized onion! And I’m so excited to cook with figs 🙂 These look awesome!
Sues
Figs, goat cheese and caramelized onions? Three of my favorite ingredients!
So you lost your fresh fig virginity! See, that wasn’t so bad! jk 🙂 I hope fresh fig season doesn’t fly by too quickly, I have some ideas I’d like to get to before they go away!
These look both beautiful and delicious! A great appetizer recipe to impress guests.
Beautiful combo of ingredients. I love this kind of snack!
As soon as I saw goat cheese I knew I would love these! Yum!
sounds like a nice combination of flavors
I just found all these goat cheese recipes and fainted.
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I made this for a party this past weekend and it was a huge hit! Although, I did notice the fig flavor was almost non-existent. I couldn’t find black mission figs in the markets, so I used green. I think green figs are much more bland than black mission figs, so I wouldn’t recommend making this dish unless you can find black figs.