Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Avocado, and Oranges

This is another recipe from Sunset magazine’s January 2012 issue. I made a couple of changes to the quantities of some of the ingredients, especially in reducing the amount of olive oil and lime. I really liked this salad and will be making it again soon, and maybe adding some sweet peppers to the mix.

Quinoa Salad with Chicken, Avocado, and Oranges

1¼ Cups quinoa, cooked

1 tsp chili powder

3 tsp garlic, minced and divided

1 tsp lime zest

2 tsp plus 1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 chicken breast

2-3 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

4 large oranges, peeled and segmented

2 ripe avocados, peeled and cubed

Cut the chicken breast into 4 or 5 pieces. In a bowl mix together salt, pepper, chili powder, lime zest, 2 tsp garlic, and 2 tsp olive oil. Marinate the chicken in this mix for at least 10 minutes. Preheat a broiler, and place the rack 4-5 inches away from heat. Place the chicken in a baking pan and broil for 6 minutes. Turn over pieces and broil for another 6-8 minutes.

In the mean time, place the remaining olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice in a big mixing bowl. Blend well, and then add the quinoa. Mix it up so that the quinoa is lightly coated with the garlic and oil mixture. Cool the chicken for a minute or two and then slice into strips and add to the quinoa. Just before serving, add in the oranges, avocado and cilantro, and toss. Add salt to taste and serve at room temperature.

Notes:

*Instead of peeling the skin of each segment of orange, I simply cut it into pieces with the inner skin on.

*I didn’t have any cilantro at home and so I used parsley instead. It added a lovely flavor.