California Chicken Avocado and Red Quinoa Bowls

In the never-ending cross-country rivalry, the West Coast wins hands down when it comes to the weather — because you know of all the sunshine and low humidity.
And though I love me a good old cold snowy winter, whenever I see on social media a “friend” grilling outdoors wearing shorts, a tee, and a pair of flip-flops in February/March, I realize that The Mamas & Papas were right all along when they were singing: “I'd be safe and warm If I was in L.A.”
Seriously people, I feel the desperate need to flee the rain, the cold, the darkness. I want some sun-induced warmth. I want to be outdoors. I want to barbecue something. Anything really.

Unfortunately it’s not going to happen anytime soon — it seems like it's going to rain and be cold for quite some time. But since my yearning for spring is not going to subside anytime soon, I decided to put California in a bowl.
That’s way I created these California Chicken Avocado and Red Quinoa Bowls, to at least put a bit of Cali life on my table.

Marinated chicken, avocados, tomatoes, greens, and quinoa in a bowl.
I’m possibly more excited about this than I am about chocolate and salt. Possibly.
The chicken is tossed in a simple but delicious marinade made with garlic, shallots, paprika, cayenne pepper and a ton of parsley and basil, olive oil, and lime juice. Then it’s grilled until nicely charred.
Grilling is my favorite method of cooking chicken, but you might as well roast in the oven or sear it in a pan.

These bowls are so delicious and easy to make. I would recommend making the chicken the night or day before so you can throw the bowls together when you want them.
And believe me when I say that if I could put California in a bowl this would be pretty close.

California Chicken Avocado and Red Quinoa Bowls                                                            Print this recipe!
Adapted from HalfBakedHarvest

Ingredients
Serves 4

Chicken

1 lb / 453 gr boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot (or small onion), finely chopped
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried basil)

Quinoa

1 cup red quinoa (or white quinoa)
2 cups / 500 ml water
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Pinch of ground black pepper

Salad

6 cups / 3.5 oz / 100 gr Mesclun (or any green salad of your choice)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
2 avocados, sliced
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Directions

In a large bowl combine olive oil, garlic, shallot, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, parsley, and basil. Add chicken and toss well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (marinate overnight for fullest flavor).
In the meantime make the quinoa.
Place quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for about 2 minutes. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.
Heat a splash of olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the drained quinoa. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, letting the water evaporate.
Add 2 cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a rolling boil, lower to a simmer (turn heat down to the lowest setting), cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered.
Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork (you should see tiny spirals separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds.)
Stir in olive oil and pepper. Set aside.
Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium-high (if you’re using an outdoor grill lightly oil the grill grates)
and cook until nicely charred and cooked through (about 4 to 5 minutes per side). Transfer to a plate to cool and set aside.
To assemble bowls divide the quinoa and greens among 4 bowls or plates. Top each bowl with equal amounts of chicken, avocado, and tomatoes.
Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil and serve!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 619 calories. 40 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbs, and 32 grams of protein.