Name: Slow-Cooker Shrimp With Spiced Quinoa and Corn Salad
Total time: 3 h
Ingredients: 1 cup white quinoa , rinsed; 2 scallions , white parts minced, green parts cut into ½-inch pieces; 2 jalapeño chiles , stemmed, seeded, and minced; 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 1/3 cups water; Salt and pepper; 1 pound medium-large shrimp (31 to 40 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed; 3/4 cup frozen corn , thawed; 3 tomatoes , cored and chopped; 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon lime juice; 2 ounces cotija cheese , crumbled (½ cup)

Why This Recipe Works

To keep the grains separate and fluffy during cooking, we quickly toasted them in the microwave before adding them to the slow cooker. The heat of the slow cooker further toasted our grains, giving a nicely caramelized flavor to our salad. We then added in some smaller shrimp and corn to round out our Southwestern-themed salad. A sprinkling of cotija cheese was a delicious finishing touch. A fresh salsa made with tomatoes, cilantro, and some lime juice perfectly complemented our salad.

Before You Begin

You will need an oval slow cooker for this recipe. If you buy unwashed quinoa (or if you are unsure whether it's washed), be sure to rinse it before cooking to remove its bitter protective coating (called saponin).

Instructions

1. Lightly coat slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Microwave quinoa, scallion whites, jalapeños, 2 teaspoons oil, and chili powder in bowl, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes; transfer to prepared slow cooker. Stir in water and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, 3 to 4 hours on low or 2 to 3 hours on high.

Season shrimp with pepper. Fluff quinoa with fork, then nestle shrimp into quinoa and sprinkle with corn. Cover and cook on high until shrimp are opaque throughout, 30 to 40 minutes.

Combine tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, scallion greens, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl. Sprinkle quinoa and shrimp with Cotija and serve, passing salsa separately.