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
1 Video | Photo: Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Black Olives Recipe


















Review This Recipe
You must be logged in to review this recipe.
or Sign Up to Review
Newest Ratings and Reviews
Read all 10 reviews
By harleyq333
Alexandria, LA
on May 21, 2013
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
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
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
Wow! I want to eat it all. This refreshing and easy to make.
By ivanav
on September 18, 2012
Flag
Flag This Review?
Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.
or Cancel
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!!!
Read all 10 reviews