Chicken and Quinoa Salad With Roasted Chiles

This hearty salad is a wonderful option when you have leftover cooked chicken or pork. Thanks to its colorful presentation inside a crisp lettuce leaf, no one will care that it’s made with leftovers.

Prep/Cook Time: 2 Hours 15 Minutes, Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh Anaheim chile peppers, poblano peppers, banana peppers and/or red bell peppers
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 ounces shredded cooked chicken or cooked pork
• ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup sliced green onions
• ⅓ cup pine nuts or slivered almonds, toasted
• Bibb or Boston lettuce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil; set aside. Halve peppers lengthwise. Remove stems, seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast peppers for 20 to 25 minutes or until skins are blistered and dark. Remove from oven, carefully fold foil up and around pepper halves to enclose; let stand about 15 minutes. Use a sharp knife to loosen the edges of the skins; gently and slowly pull off the skin in strips. Discard skins. Cut peppers into bite-size strips. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan combine quinoa and water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Uncover and let stand about 30 minutes.
3. For dressing, in a small screw-top jar combine lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and black pepper. Cover and shake well to combine.
4. In a large bowl combine roasted pepper strips, quinoa, chicken (or pork), cilantro, green onions and pine nuts (or almonds). Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine. Line serving plates with lettuce. Top with quinoa mixture. Serve salad at room temperature.

Nutritional Information

Per Serving: 454 Calories, Total Fat: 22 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 50 mg, Carbohydrates: 43 g, Fiber: 5 g, Protein: 26 g, Sodium: 220 mg, Potassium: 991 mg

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