Black bean, corn and quinoa salad

Ingredients

0 of 18 out on the counter

• ¾ cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cans (15 oz each) no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
• ⅓ cup diced red onion
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 cup orange sections, cut in bite-size pieces
• ¼ cup roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1½ cups water, for cooking the quinoa

All set! Everything is out. Time to bake.

Method

1. 1Rinse the quinoa in a fine strainer. Bring it and 1½ cups water to a boil in a small pot, then turn the heat to low and cover. At 5,300 ft water boils near 203 °F, so give it 18 to 20 minutes instead of 15. It is done when the water is gone and each grain shows a tiny white tail.
2. 2Spread the quinoa on a sheet pan to cool for 15 minutes, fluffing it once with a fork.
3. 3While it cools, stir the lime juice, salt, cumin, garlic powder and pepper together in a large bowl until the salt melts. Whisk in the olive oil.
4. 4Tip the warm quinoa into the bowl and toss, so the grain drinks up the dressing.
5. 5Add the beans, corn, red pepper, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, orange pieces and cilantro. Fold gently so the beans stay whole.
6. 6Stir in the spinach and sunflower seeds just before you eat, so the leaves stay bright and the seeds stay crisp.
7. 7Divide among four bowls. Leftovers go in the fridge within 2 hours; keep the spinach and seeds out of the container until you eat. Keeps 3 days in the fridge (our kitchen practice; we hold no published source for it yet).