Start by preparing quinoa. I use twice as much water as quinoa, in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover for 15 minutes to cook, then turn off heat and let sit covered another 5 minutes.
Caramelize the onion. I used a safe butter, but a safe for you oil works. There’s a decent explanation of how to do it here. If you’re only doing a small amount of onion, it will finish at about the same time as your quinoa. More onions = more cooking time. If you don’t mind cheating, you can add a little brown sugar toward the end to finish them faster.
Dump the main ingredients in a big serving bowl.
Mix up a little vinaigrette to splash over. A 1 part vinegar to 3 or 4 parts oil is what my husband makes me stick to because vinegary things annoy him. So I probably did about a Tablespoon vinegar to a 1/4 cup oil. Throw some salt and pepper on top, and mix it well.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve when you feel like it.
Notes
Note that I created this on the fly, so measurements are approximate. In reality, I added stuff until it looked like a good mix.Substitutions might be apple cider vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar. For oil, something as light or lighter than olive is what I’d recommend. Sesame, grapeseed are probably good options. Coconut would be too heavy.