As I’ve mentioned before, quinoa salads are one of my favorite dishes to bring to family gatherings or parties because they are easy, filling, healthy and delicious! If you are unfamiliar with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), it is a gluten free grain-like seed that originated from South America. I love that it is versatile, easy to prepare and best of all is a complete protein; meaning it contains all nine of the essential amino-acids that our bodies need to thrive. Quinoa is also considered a valuable source of heart-healthy fats as well as packed full of vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.
I like to add whatever seasonal vegetables are available to make a quinoa salad more interesting. It’s spring here on the east coast and one of my favorite salads to make is with sweet peas and fava beans. In the past, I’ve grown fava beans in my garden but not this year. It’s also a little early to find them in local farmer’s markets so instead I used two cups of peas for this particular batch (although I prefer to mix in fava beans). I also like to make at least a double batch of quinoa salads because they store well as leftovers and are perfect for weekday lunches.
spring quinoa salad
(adapted from aran goyoaga)
serves 4 to 6
ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups filtered water or vegetable stock
1 cup sweet peas (fresh or frozen)
1 cup fresh fava beans
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup organic watercress
zest of 1 organic lemon
¼ cup extra virgin first cold pressed olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
directions
to cook quinoa bring 2 cups of water (or vegetable stock) and quinoa to boil in a medium saucepan. add a pinch of salt. simmer covered until water is absorbed (15-20 minutes). remove from heat and fluff with a fork, leaving lid off to cool.
while quinoa is cooking, in a small saucepan, bring about 3 cups filtered water to a boil. blanch the peas and fava beans in the water for about 1-3 minutes. drain the water and immediately submerge the peas and favas in a bowl of ice water. this will stop the cooking process and help retain their bright color.
remove the outer “skin” of the fava beans by pinching them between your fingers. use only the tender bright green bean inside.
add the peas, favas, and the rest of the ingredients to a serving bowl with the quinoa. toss and serve at room temperature or chilled.
