A Great Gluten Free Spring Salad - Salmon Salad With Quinoa & Black Beans

I like salmon, but who doesn't who lives in the Northwest?  You can do a lot with salmon besides just throwing it on the BBQ.  Whenever spring comes I start thinking of the different types of main dish salads I know about. I was visiting my father in April, and he is pretty health conscious and likes to make a green salad every day.  He had some  salmon in his pantry and that gave me an idea for lunch one day.  I thought about all the delicious things l like to put on a salad like quinoa and beans and thought I'm going to put it all together.   

Like many salads you can decide what types of vegetables you want to scatter across the top, but I'm listing the ones I like to use.  And, of course,  how much you need depends on how many you're feeding so I'm not giving you any amounts here.  We chopped up the vegetables and then arranged them into individual salad bowls.

Salmon Salad with Quinoa & Black Beans

1.  Vegetable Prep:

(1)  Wash an assortment of greens:  I like to use red lettuce, kale, and spinach.

(2)  Scrub and grate 1 carrot.

(3)  Slice green onions.

(4)  Sliced or chopped cucumber.

(5)  Slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half.

(6)  Cube avocado(s)

(6)  Drain a can of black beans.

2.  Prepare quinoa according to package directions. 

3.  Assemble salads - in individual salad bowls put:

(1)  Greens

(2)  Some spoonfuls of quinoa

(3)  Scatter vegetables across the top.

(4)  Spoon over a few tablespoons of black beans.

(5)  Then scatter canned salmon across the top.

4.  Balsamic Salad Dressing (This is my Italian son-in-law's own dressing):

(1)  Pour 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive into a dressing bottle.

(2)  Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

(3)  Then add 1/2 of salt, pepper, and oregano.

(4)  Mince 2 cloves of garlic.

(5)  Taste and make any adjustments.  This dressing is everyone's favorite!!

List of Other Salads on this Blog:

Greens/cabbage:
Make it Yourself Thai Peanut Dressing for Mandarin Salad  (My friend Judi's recipe)
KFC Copycat Cole Slaw   (A friend shared this with me)
Belizean Coleslaw    (From Internet search)
Antioxidant Rich Kale Super Salad  (A copycat from a deli, dressing from Syre School Cookbook)

Main Dish Salads
Gluten Free Chinese Chicken Cabbage Salad   (From my Heritage School Cookbook)
Baja Salad with Black Beans & Quinoa  (A remake from something I ate at a restaurant)

Mexican Grilled Salmon & Mango Salad   (From a Betty Crocker summer cookbook)
Jackson Square Shrimp Salad   (From my Syre School cookbook)

Pasta & Quinoa:
Tasty Gluten Free Pasta Salad  (Something I picked up over 20 years ago!)
Vietnamese Vermicelli Salad Bowls   (From an Internet search)
Michelle's Greek Quinoa Salad   (My foodie daughter's own delicious creation!) Another Great Salad with Quinoa - Janah's  Original Quinoa, Cranberry & Feta Salad  (a recipe my daughter came up with)

Vegetable:
Jeremy D's Sensational Greek Salad   (My son-in-law's recipe)

Grandma's Perfect Potato Salad   (Family recipe)
Rose's Refreshing Cucumber Salad   (From a Chinese friend)
A Great BBQ side Salad - Curried Pea Salad  (From my church cookbook, Come & Dine)

Dot's Easy Bean Salad  (Recipe from an  83 yr old friend of my father's)

Fruit:
Grandma Marilyn's Frozen Fruit Salad  (My mother-in-law's recipe)