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Tomato and Cherry Quinoa With Pistachios

By Mark Diacono

4.0

(4)

Tomato and cherry quinoa with pistachios on a plate.
Photo by Mark Diacono

This simple tomato and cherry quinoa recipe—a seriously good celebration of high summer—deserves the very best tomatoes you can find. A mix of size, color and flavor works really well, but if you have a bowlful of one excellent variety such as Gardeners’ Delight or Honeycomb, don’t hesitate. The quick-pickled shallots are a wonderful thing: make them once and you’ll find any number of uses for them.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Vegetables: Easy and Inventive Vegetarian Suppers’ by Mark Diacono. Buy the full book on Amazon. Get more summer tomato recipes →

Ingredients

2 shallots, very thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
150g (5oz) quinoa
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
400g (14oz) ripe tomatoes, sliced
200g (7oz) ripe cherries, pitted
80g (3oz) shelled pistachios
Small bunch of fresh mint, leaves shredded
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Mix the shallots with the lemon juice and leave for 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Boil the quinoa in a large pan of salted water for 12–15 minutes until tender, then drain well.

    Step 3

    Spread the quinoa over a large serving platter and drizzle with half the olive oil. Arrange the tomatoes and cherries on top, sprinkle over the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Scatter with the shallots and lemon juice, followed by the pistachios and mint. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the salad to serve.

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Excerpted with permission from Vegetables: Easy and Inventive Vegetarian Suppers by Mark Diacono. Published by ‎Quadrille, July 2024. Buy the full book from Amazon.
TagsCookbooksTomatoVegetableSaladSidePistachioNutQuinoaRice & GrainsVegetarianEasyQuickVeganDairy FreeSoy FreeSummer

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