Mark Bittman Chooses Quinoa and Mango Salad

Every Monday and Wednesday, we'll announce a new Wildcard winner: a recipe that may not have been entered in (or won) a contest, but a recipe that we've tested and loved.

Today: Mark Bittman chooses a recipe from the Food52 community that brings grains to life. 

All week long, we've been featuring Mark Bittman and his recipes, his tips, and his VB6 lifestyle. Today, he finds a Wildcard Winner that uses grains -- a vegan staple -- to great effect. Here's what he has to say about jenniebgood's Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lemon-Ginger Dressing:

For an increasingly plant-based lifestyle, it’s best to keep brown rice and whole grains on hand. Cook them in batches and store in the freezer or fridge for better keeping. I like them all -- from farro, kasha (toasted buckwheat), quinoa (one of my favorites), and millet to all kinds of brown rice, wild rice, steel-cut oats, and bulgur (partially cooked cracked wheat). This recipe shows how to spruce up the grain base: fruit, herbs, legumes and aromatics all in one meal, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lemon-Ginger Dressing by jenniebgood

Serves serves 4 to 6 as a main course, 6 to 8 as a starter

Quinoa and Mango Salad

1 cup regular, red or black quinoa
2 cups water
3 mangoes
1 large red onion, halved stem to root and slivered
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups micro greens
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 to 2 avocados, halved, pitted and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Lemony-Ginger Dressing

3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
salt and pepper, to taste 

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by James Ransom