I do not like the fact that vegans and vegetarians claim the salads to be their food. I say it most certainly is not limited to them. I like my meat and I like my greens too. I am all for eating healthy but I do not understand how giving up meat is every going to help me do that. I am not denying the positives of a vegetarian diet but if you eat right, meat eating can be extremely beneficial for your body. You can cite my upbringing as a reason but whether I am eating a sandwich, a burger or a salad, I like the taste of meat to be at least apart of the whole deal. It brings me a homely feeling and I like that. I am not a fussy eater and I like things simple so I am a super fan of salads, especially the ones that contain a little bit of meat. The latest addition to my list of favorites is the quinoa salad recipe which is garnished with pork chops (boneless).

I like the pork chops to be thinly sliced to blend in with the texture of the salad. The salad is not about chunks but more about the ingredients that seem to flow together. Make sure that you cut the chops thinly. In this quinoa salad recipe, I have cut the pork chops in cube shapes and placed them neatly, a few on the top and some mixed in the salad. This can serve as a whole hearted meal as well as a side dish if you reduce the size of the serving. You can either use a similar way of plating up with a base of lettuce or use different material to form the base. I know quite a few people who are not exactly fans of lettuce but as I said I love my greens so I like eating fresh and juicy lettuce as a part of my salad.

This quinoa salad recipe works wonderful if you garnish with very thin slices of beetroot which is sliced like fries. It can also bring a little color and flavor to the lettuce base. Remember that although you are going to cook both the quinoa and pork, the other ingredients mostly will be a part of this salad in their raw form. Do not despair this will not have any adverse effect on the taste of the salad. You can sauté the pork or if you prefer it simply fry it well to cook it.

This depends on how you like to have it. I have not added a lot of spices but many spices can go well and can be introduced while cooking pork so that the meat can take on the various flavors. If you use a different variety of cheese you can end up making a very heavy dish for yourself so tread carefully on that path. Do not try it unless you are very sure of it.

So let us cook together this odd one out of all the popular recipes of salad based on quinoa:

1. Use a pressure cooker or open pan method to cook quinoa. I cooked it under pressure for 2 minutes and fluffed it with fork.
2. In order to prepare pork to ad it to the salad, sauté it in some olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Ensure that all the pieces are evenly colored and remove from heat once they have all turned a beautiful golden brown in color. This should not take more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic towards the end.
3. On the lettuce base in a bowl, add a layer of quinoa dressed with cheese, onion, lime juice, tomatoes and cucumber. Mix the salt and pepper into this.
4. Top this plating with the pork chops and bring some quinoa on the sides and let the garnishing show. You dish is ready to be served.