1red bell pepperseeded, membrane removed and diced into 1/2 - 3/4-inch pieces
1yellow bell pepperseeded, membrane removed and diced into 1/2 - 3/4-inch pieces
1long red sweet pepperseeded, membrane removed, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
1cupred grape tomatoeshalved
1cupyellow grape tomatoeshalved
1/3cuproasted garlic cloves
2green onionsgreen and white parts, sliced on the diagonal, about 1/3 - 1/2-inch in length
1celery stalkthinly sliced
6pickled cherry pepperscut in halves or quarters
1medium red onionhalved and thinly sliced
1cupyour favorite olivespitted (green or Kalamata)
1/2cupfeta cheesecrumbled, for sprinkling
For the dressing:
3tablespoonsfreshly squeezed lemon juice
1tablespoonsherry vinegar
3Tbspvery good quality olive oil
1/2teaspoondried oregano
2tspkosher saltplus more to taste
1/4tspfreshly ground black pepperplus more to taste
Instructions
Cook the quinoa following the instructions on the packaging or use the following method. Remove black and odd looking grains. Place the quinoa in a medium size boiling pot, fill with water half way and stir. You will see some debris floating at the top.Carefully pour the water out of the pot. Repeat one more time. Now add 1 1/2 cups of clean water (1 1/2 cups of water per 1 cup of uncooked quinoa), add 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp vegetable oil, and bring to boil. Cover the port with a lid and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. Stir quinoa and make sure there is no water remaining at the bottom. Otherwise cook covered for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the stove, stir and let cool.
Mix all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Add half the lemon juice, half the sherry vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and the freshly ground black pepper. Mix really well and taste for salt and pepper. Add more salt if necessary. Add the rest of the lemon juice and sherry vinegar if you feel you need more acidity. It's all personal.
Serve immediately or let cool in the fridge overnight. Either way this salad tastes great. Sprinkle with Feta cheese before serving.
Notes
You can substitute roasted garlic cloves with 1 clove fresh garlic, smashed and finely chopped to a paste