Quinoa & grilled brioche salad

1/2 cup quinoa

4 slices brioche*

olive oil**

4 ripe medium tomatoes

3 small cucumbers

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

4 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 1/2 tbsp chopped mint

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 small garlic cloves

salt & pepper

sumac***

This is from the excellent book Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. I have modified just a tiny bit (using brioche instead of sourdough, which I detest, and adding a sprinkle of sumac).  The result is a meal in itself, with the addition of the quinoa making it a little different and more hearty than a traditional Fatoush salad.

 

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Put quinoa in a pan of boiling water and cook for 9 minutes, till tender. Drain in a fine sieve and rinse under cold water.

Brush *bread (I had brioche, recipe calls for sourdough) with a little olive oil and salt and bake on a sheet for about 10 minutes, till golden brown.

Cut tomatoes into rough 2cm dice and put in mixing bowl. Cut cucumbers in similar chunks, add to bowl.

Add everything else including **two good glugs of olive oil (I have no idea what 70 mls of olive oil looks like), onions, herbs, garlic, lemon & red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, quinoa and ***sumac (recipe does NOT call for it; I like the Fatoush-y taste) and mix well.  I added the bread, broken up into bits, at the end and mixed again because I like it a little crunchy.