Ask just about any Gastronomy student and they will tell you what the highlight of class is: snack. Nothing breaks up a 6:00-9:00pm lecture better than a creative, satisfying, and scrumptious bite, hand selected by someone getting an advanced degree in food.

As fun as snack is, it can be pretty intimidating to cook for a bunch of foodies. Many students (myself included) work 9-5 jobs, meaning that snack must be prepared in advance. An ideal snack is portable, temperature stable, and of course, finger-licking good. Throwing in a few superfoods or ethnic ingredients doesn’t hurt either.

When my turn to make snack rolled around (we pass around a sign-up sheet on the first day of class), I knew I wanted to bring something hearty and healthy, but also trendy and tasty.  That’s how I ended up with this quinoa salad. Quinoa AND Marcona almonds? I was pretty much golden. After all, nothing gets gastronomy students going more than ancient grains and gourmet ingredients.

Quinoa Salad with Dried Cranberries and Marcona Almonds (loosely inspired by the Chicken and Farro Salad recipe from True Food)

Makes about 5 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup dried whole cranberries (I get mine from Whole Foods)
• 3/4 cup pitted dates, sliced into thirds
• 3/4 cup Marcona almonds
• 2 oz (about 1/4 cup shredded) Manchego Cheese

Method:

1. To cook quinoa, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add quinoa. Then, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. The outside germ of the grain will separate into a curly tail.
2. After cooking, set quinoa aside to cool. Once it has cooled off, combine with other ingredients. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts (per 1/2 cup serving): 193 calories, 7g fat (1g saturated), 29.5g carbohydrates (3.5g fiber, 13g sugar), 5.5g protein, 6.9% iron

– Kelly