One of my favorite dishes to bring to a potluck is the quinoa salad with black beans and mango from Veganomicon.  Despite having as ‘exotic’ an ingredient as quinoa, it’s a huge hit at omnivorous potlucks, and I’ve been repeatedly asked to make it for parties at the boathouse.

This is a beautiful, colorful salad.  Unfortunately I have no visuals of my own to share, but check out some other people’s posts (with pretty pictures) here and here.  I think its visual appeal draws people in, so they eat it, love it, and only then do they ask me what’s in it.  That’s when I get to explain quinoa.  By that point, people are so taken by the tastiness of the salad that they don’t care that there’s something ‘weird’ in it, and often ask me where to get quinoa and how to cook it.  Even if they never actually make it for themselves, I’m glad to have piqued their interest.

A lot of chopping is required, but it’s a pretty simple recipe.  I use my Vidalia Chop Wizard to dice the red peppers into nice little squares, which helps speed things up and looks nice, but isn’t necessary (especially if you’re not fine-motor-challenged).  I usually use 2 mangos (double what’s called for), but I’m bad at cutting mangos efficiently and usually end up eating lots of fruit off of the seed and peels.  If your mango skills are better than mine, there’s no need to double…though eating the extra sure is tasty.

So don’t delay- and don’t let your fears of omnis eschewing quinoa stop you from sharing this delightful dish.  Make it for your next potluck, or just for yourself.