Quinoa, Celery and Pomegranate Salad

 To get the seeds out of a pomegranate cut the fruit into wedges. Place the wedges in a large bowl of water and break the wedges apart to remove the seeds. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the bitter pith and skin will float to the top making it easy to remove. To juice the seeds I simply place small handfuls into a handheld citrus juicer and let the juice run into a separate bowl.

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa to 1 & ¾ cup water

1 pound celery (a small head), cut in thin slices on a slight bias
seeds of 1/2 large pomegranate
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped with cone #2 (toasted in dry skillet)
1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley chopped well
1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped

Pomegranate Dressing:
juice of 1/2 large pomegranate

1/2 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice one lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside. Cook Quinoa in 3qt until just tender but still quite al dente. Put all the ingredients in a bowl, pour over the dressing and check the seasoning. Serve immediately.