Quinoa and tuna salad

Who doesn't fancy one? rich, healthy and nutritious salad? If so, join us today to discover the preparation of one of them: A delicacy made specifically in Peru, land of gastronomic heritages that, with their irrefutable flavors, delight and reveal simple and easy recipes.

This salad, which we will talk about the rest of the writing, is the popular Quinoa and tuna salad, a fast, delicious and very substantial dish for young and old. Its ingredients are cheap and easily accessibleLikewise, they are so colorful and healing that you will not hesitate to consume them.

Now, grab your utensils, get the ingredients ready and let's begin to discover the flavors and textures that this recipe provides us.

Quinoa and Tuna Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Quinoa
• 2 cups of water
• 1 can of tuna
• 1 lemon
• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 boiled eggs, shelled
• 3 cherry tomatoes
• 100 gr of prawns
• Olive oil
• mint and basil leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Materials or utensils

• Olla
• Skillet
• Wooden spoon
• Strainer
• Bowl
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Flat plate
• small round mold

Preparation

1. Take a pot and pour the Quinoa into it together with the two cups of water and a pinch of salt. light the fire and place to cook for 10 minutes.
2. While the time elapses, locate a pan to heat. Add a tablespoon of oil, preferably olive oil, and the prawns. Sauté them for 2 to 5 minutes. Reserve in a cool place.
3. When the Quinoa has been cooked, remove from heat and drain in a colander. Once we have it without water, take it to a bowl or refractory.
4. Cut boiled eggs into small pieces or squares.. Help yourself with a cutting board and a sharp knife. In the same way, peel the avocado, remove the seed and cut it into squares.
5. Wash and cut the tomatoes In rooms and don't forget remove the seed.
6. Open the can of tuna and empty it into a cup.
7. Take all the ingredients that we chopped in the previous steps plus the tuna to the refractory along with the Quinoa. Also, add two tablespoons of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper.
8. Stir the preparation with a range or a wooden spoon, so that each ingredient is completely mixed with the other.
9. Cut the lemon in half and add the juice to the salad. Stir once more, checking for salt and adding a bit if needed.
10. To finish, serve on a flat plate and, with the help of a round mold, shape the salad. Add a few prawns on top and finish decorating with mint leaves or fresh basil.

Tips and recommendations

• Before being cooked Quinoa must be rinsed in various waters until the liquid runs clear. This in order to clean the cereal well and not ingest substances that can adhere to the recipe later.
• In general, the tuna has a little oil included so that the food stays moist and fresh inside the can. Nevertheless, for this preparation it is not necessary to add this oil, since soon we will add several tablespoons of olive oil to the preparation. Likewise, if you want to include the oil from the tuna, you can, but avoid including another fatty liquid.
• If you want to consume the salad with a touch more spicy and acid, you can add red onion chopped in julienne. Also, you can put a tablespoon vinegar, according to your taste.
• Instead, if what you want is a smoother, sweeter flavor, add to the recipe some grains of sweet corn or cooked corn.
• Salad is not recommended. after a long time of having prepared it, because the avocado oxidizes and its color changes, turning dark and with spots.

nutritional facts

A portion of the Quinoa Salad with Tuna contains between 388 to 390 Kcal, which makes it a great natural energizer. Together, it has 11 grams of fat, 52 grams of carbohydrates and 41 grams of protein. Similarly, it boasts other nutrients such as:

• Sodium 892 mg
• Fiber 8.3 gr
• Sugars 6.1 gr
• Lipids 22 gr

In turn, its main ingredient, the quinoa, provides all essential amino acids, equating its protein quality to that of milk. Among the amino acids, the Lysineimportant for brain development and arginine and histidinebasic for human development during childhood. Also, it is rich in methionine and cystine, in minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins A and C.

In addition, its grains are highly nutritious, surpassing in biological value, nutritional and functional quality traditional cereals, such as wheat, corn, rice and oats. Nevertheless, Not all varieties of quinoa are gluten free.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa is an herb belonging to the Chenopodiodeae subfamily of Amaranthaceae, although technically it is a seed, is known and classified as a whole grain.

It is native to the highlands of the Andes shared by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru and it was the pre-Hispanic cultures that domesticated and cultivated the plant, preserving its legacy to this day.

Currently, its consumption is general and its production ranges from the United States, Colombia and Peru, to various countries in Europe and Asia, countries that describe it as a resistant, tolerant and efficient plant in the use of water, with extraordinary adaptability, being able to withstand temperatures from -4 ºC to 38 ªC and grow in relative humidity from 40% to 70%.

Fun Facts about Quinoa

• International Year of Quinoa: The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the International Year of Quinoa, in recognition of the ancestral practices of the Andean peoples that have preserved the cereal as food for present and future generations through knowledge and practices of living in harmony with nature. The purpose of this was focus world attention on the role of quinoa in the food and nutritional security of producing and consuming countries.
• Peru as the largest producer of Quinoa: Peru remains for the third consecutive year as the largest Producer and Exporter of Quinoa in the world. In 2016, Peru registered 79.300 tons of Quinoa, which represented 53,3% of the world volume, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Minagri.