Funny, I was never a big fan of sushi or ahi poke until a few years ago and now I can’t get enough! This recipe combines the wonderful quinoa grain in a cold salad with fruit, veggies and ahi poke for one filling and healthy dinner!
I think ahi is such a wonderful fish and whether it’s quickly seared with a blackened seasoning, or served with steamed rice, in a soup or appetizer like my Fresh Ahi Poke Stack with Papaya Avocado and Sriracha Whipped Cream Drizzle I am loving this fish.
So the other night we were invited to a going away party for friend who was headed East to start at Harvard Law School. She’s a beautiful person inside and out, and it was great meeting her fiancé for the first time.
Knowing she is gluten intolerant I thought about crafting up something filling, healthy and in a salad form for her. This seemed to be a hit at the party and even though it’s taken me probably 2 months to post this, it is worth posting.
Someone else at the party brought these amazing gluten-free pizzas that were just outstanding, too. Who knew?
This salad combines a variety of bell peppers for color, crunch and flavors as well as marinated red onions, creamy avocados and few other goodies with the cooled quinoa and grain mixture. If you’d like to read more about the amazing health benefits and how unique quinoa is, check out this article by Helen Nichols, the Editor in Chief over at Well-Being Secrets.
Add the Asian influenced ahi poke, mango and a tangy salad dressing and this comes together pretty quickly. Hope you enjoy, we did!
Ahi Poke and Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh ahi tuna filet cubed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 cup quinoa (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup millet optional
- 1/2 cup amaranth optional
- 1/2 each red yellow, green and orange bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped marinated red onion
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 mango cubed
- Dressing
- 1/4 cup 3 limes, juiced
- 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- pinch of kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- Garnish
- black & white sesame seeds garnish
- 1 head butter lettuce
Instructions
- Thinly slice a red onion and in a bowl cover with rice wine vinegar for at least 15 minutes. Save a few for the poke marinade.
- Rinse the grains with cold water and drain. Add them to 2 3/4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 18 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and spread on a baking sheet to cool.
- Toss the cubed ahi in a bowl with the soy sauce, a few slices of red onion and sesame seeds. Set aside.
- Dice the bell peppers, chop the marinated red onions, green onions and cilantro and add to a large salad bowl. Dice the avocado and mango and set aside.
- For the dressing slice and juice the limes and whisk together with the apple cider vinegar, oil, mustard, honey and season with a pinch of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
- Add the cooled quinoa, amaranth and millet grains to the bowl of vegetables. Gently toss with the ahi poke, avocado and mango. Add the dressing on top and mix thoroughly to coat all.
- Refrigerate for minimum of 4 hours and serve with sprig of cilantro and sesame seeds.
Notes
Either use 1 1/2 cups of quinoa or a 1/2 cup of each grain for a total of 1 1/2 cups grain total.
How did I miss this salad? I LOVE Ahi and this salad looks fabulous!
Maybe I posted this when you were off enjoying the sites and experiences of Paris? Glad you saw this as it is a good one if I say so myself. 🙂
Strange as this may sound, I just made a batch of poke this afternoon and may keep half to make another batch of this for Sunday. Have a great weekend.
Now this is a salad even I can get behind (and that is saying something!) Delicious flavors and gorgeous colors!
Appreciate it Nicole. I am not a HUGE quinoa eater, but for my friend, I made the exception with that incredible poke!
It’s like a modern sushi bowl 🙂 Adore! And I really adore the colours in it!
Thanks Nagi. The colors and textures were most appetizing!
Oh, man Kevin, I LOVE salad! I make ahi poke all.the.time. and I always have cooked quinoa in my fridge, why I never thought to jazz it up and eat them together beats the heck outta me! Glad we are friends, because i have you to think of these delicious things for me AND you share them! This is Soooo getting made very soon in my kitchen!! Pinned! Glad you had a great time at the Send off party, I can see why this went over so well! Good thing I wasn’t there, because I would have eaten ALL of… Read more »
I just love your energy and spirit Chey! Thanks for being a friend on my culinary journey. 🙂
What a beautiful dish and I love the flavors going on there! I share the same experience. It took me quite a few years to get used to sushi and sashimi, and now I crave for them so often! I must try out this dish!
Thanks Maggie, the textures and flavors are so good. Poke for everyone! 🙂
Hey Kevin! I love ahi tuna and sushi! I’d be picking out the tuna pieces first and then eat the salad! 🙂 PS Beautiful dish! Have a great weekend guys!
Ha, I actually found myself doing the same thing Dorothy! We are two peas in a pod!
Clearly your friend understands the amazingness that is the East coast, Kevin! Now you’ll have someone else to send you maple syrup. Haha! But you might have to keep her supplied with Cali peppers. 🙂 Speaking of amazingness, this salad looks incredible. I want to dig into that bad boy for breakfast right now. #WolfpackTravelsEast
Funny she saw this on Instagram and mentioned what a fun evening it was. East Coast, West Coast… it’s all good to me. 🙂