Name: Tahini-Tuna Quinoa Bowl
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 cup prewashed quinoa; 1¼ cups plus ⅓ cup water, divided; ⅓ cup tahini; 5 tablespoons lemon juice (2 lemons), divided; 1½ teaspoons garlic powder; 1 teaspoon table salt, divided; 2 (5-ounce) cans olive oil–packed tuna, drained, 2 tablespoons oil reserved; ¼ cup shelled pistachios, chopped fine, divided; ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, divided; 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/2 inch thick; 10 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved

Why This Recipe Works

Inspired by flavors from Middle Eastern cooking, this hearty bowl pairs tahini-enriched tuna salad with a quinoa pilaf and a bright cucumber-tomato salad. Smooth, nutty, faintly bitter tahini made a rich-tasting dressing base for both the tuna and the quinoa. Cutting it with lemon juice and water thinned the paste to a fluid consistency and balanced its assertive flavor. Toasting the quinoa in a dry skillet developed its natural nutty flavor. Cooking it pilaf-style with an almost equal amount of water ensured tender grains with satisfying bite. A lemony chopped cucumber-tomato salad contrasted the rich, nutty, earthy flavors of the tuna and quinoa, while toasted pistachios stirred into the quinoa and sprinkled over each portion added crunch and color.

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Before You Begin

This recipe uses the oil from the tuna can; do not substitute water-packed tuna. We like prewashed quinoa; rinsing removes bitter saponins from the surface of the quinoa. If you buy unwashed quinoa, rinse it and then spread it out on a clean dish towel to dry for 15 minutes.

Instructions

Toast quinoa in medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until quinoa is fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in 1¼ cups water and bring to simmer. Cover; reduce heat to low; and simmer until grains are just tender and liquid is absorbed, 18 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking. Remove saucepan from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff quinoa with fork; set aside.

While quinoa cooks, stir tahini, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and remaining ⅓ cup water together in 1-cup liquid measuring cup.

Add tuna and reserved oil to medium bowl. Flake tuna with fork. Add ½ cup dressing, 2 tablespoons pistachios, and 2 tablespoons parsley and stir until well combined; set aside. Combine cucumber; tomatoes; and remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt in second medium bowl.

Spoon quinoa into 4 shallows bowls. Drizzle with remaining dressing. Spoon tuna into center of quinoa. Scatter cucumber-tomato salad around tuna. Divide remaining 2 tablespoons pistachios evenly among bowls, sprinkling around edges. Serve.