1 Video | Photo: Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Black Olives Recipe
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quinoa Salad:
- 4 cups salted water or vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 cups quinoa
- 16 spears asparagus, trimmed
- Olive oil, for brushing
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup pitted nicoise olives
- 4 ounces aged goat cheese, shaved
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Directions
For the vinaigrette: Combine the vinegar, honey and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse a few times to incorporate.
For the quinoa salad: Bring the salted water or vegetable stock to a boil and add the thyme. Stir in the quinoa, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Preheat the grill. Brush the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on all sides until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, fold in the asparagus, olives, goat cheese, basil and parsley. Add just enough vinaigrette to moisten the salad; don't make it too wet. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with more of the vinaigrette.
Serves: 6; Calories: 477; Total Fat: 29 grams; Saturated Fat: 6 grams; Protein: 13 grams; Total carbohydrates: 43 grams; Sugar: 6 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Cholesterol: 9 milligrams; Sodium: 446 milligrams
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By harleyq333
Alexandria, LA
on May 21, 2013
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My husband thought this was bland but I think his taste buds are off because to me, this had a lot of flavor, especially considering how simple it is. I used all fresh herbs so they were really potent. Couldn't find nicoise olives so I subbed kalamata and those along with the goat cheese also carry pretty strong flavors so I just don't see how this can be bland. The salt and pepper on the asparagus also carried a zing. The only thing I didn't like was the dressing but I think that's just because aside from store bought Italian (which I used on this salad after throwing out the homemade vinaigrette I don't like vinaigrette dressings. Overall, it was really good and next time I might add in a few red bell pepper slices to the mix and squeeze a little lemon juice on the asparagus during cook time.
By gaybers
Cape Girardeau, MO
on February 24, 2013
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Wow! I want to eat it all. This refreshing and easy to make.
By ivanav
on September 18, 2012
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This was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!! I know people said to still put the olives but I REALLY don't like them so I made it exact without the olives and it was still fantastic! Also I made it with fresh goat cheese because I accidentally bought fresh rather than aged because I didn't read that carefully but it still turned out AMAZING!! YUM YUM YUM!!!
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