Quinoa is a nutritious South American grain that was highly respected by the Incans. Quinoa is gluten free, so it is a nice choice for those who are gluten intolerant. The flavor of quinoa is richer than modern wheat and it can be used in place of wheat for many recipes including pasta. Pasta salads are nothing new. Some pasta salads are better than others. For a better pasta salad, a pasta salad should be treated as if it was an Italian pasta! The pasta salad should be made shortly before serving and the pasta should be cooked al dente. Stale old mushy pasta in a salad is something that second rate restaurants serve. In fact, many low end restaurant treat pasta salad like it is just another way to serve leftovers. Pasta salad should have substance and it should have flavor. A student at chef school made a pasta salad that was so simple that it drew nothing but complaints. Pasta with a light coating of mayonnaise and nothing else is not a pasta salad! Some students lose track of what fine cooking is all about. Just trying to make a pasta salad look pretty is not enough. It must have flavor! I used an old tropical summer theme flavor for this pasta salad recipe. Because pineapple is in the recipe, this pasta salad cannot be made ahead of time, or the acids from the pineapple fruit will cause a negative reaction with the other ingredients. The pineapple creates a nice refreshing tropical caribbean flavor in a a pasta salad and it also thins the mayonnaise enough, so the mayonnaise becomes a light coating. Mayonnaise should not be thick like glue in a pasta salad!
Quinoa Sea Shell Pasta Salad with Bay Scallops, Pineapple and Cilantro: This recipe makes 1 portion! Place 2 tablespoons of diced carrot in a mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of diced celery. Add 2 tablespoons of seeded diced tomato. Add 1 tablespoon of diced bermuda onion. Add 1 tablespoon of diced red bell pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of thin sliced green onion. Add 1/4 cup of large diced fresh pineapple. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger paste. Add sea salt and white pepper. Add 1 small pinch of allspice. Add 1 small pinch of ground celery seed. Add 1 small pinch of cayenne pepper. Add 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Add 1/2 teaspoon of lime juice. Stir the ingredients together. Refrigerate the mixing bowl and ingredients. Boil 1 portion of quinoa flour small sea shell pasta, till it almost becomes cooked al dente. Just before the pasta becomes cooked al dente, add 4 ounces of small bay scallops. (Small bay scallops only take 1 to 2 minutes to cook.) Cook the pasta and scallops together. (Using this method will give the pasta a scallop flavor!) When the quinoa pasta becomes al dente, the scallops should be finished cooking. Drain the water off of the pasta scallops. Cool the pasta and scallops under cold running water. Drain the water off of the pasta and scallops. Add the quinoa pasta and scallops to the chilled ingredients in the mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together. Place a generous mound of the Quinoa Sea Shell Pasta Salad with Bay Scallops, Pineapple and Cilantro on a plate. Garnish with a slice of lime.
I left the presentation very plain for this recipe like I usually do. Use your imagination if you want to garnish the plate and create a fancy presentation. There is no shortage of delicate tropical flavor in this pasta salad! The pasta salads flavors do not overwhelm the flavor of the the scallops. The flavor compliments the scallops! Yum! ... Shawna
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