Category
Salad
Perfect for picnics, and using up your favorite farmers market veggies!
Ingredients
1 Part Dry Quinoa (volume will triple)
2 Parts Water
Salt to taste
- Greens: kale, arugula, romaine, spring greens
- Tomatoes
- Bell pepper
- Radish
- Fennel
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Summer squash
- Red onion or green onion
- Fresh herbs: basil, cilantro, chives, dill, parsley
- Beans: chickpeas, lentils
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
- Cheese: goat cheese, feta
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
2 teaspoons mustard
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons ice-cold water, more as needed
For the Quinoa
Veggie Ideas (Use any of the below, or let your imagination go wild!)
For the Tahini Mustard Dressing
Directions
For the Quinoa
Rinse the quinoa: Pour the quinoa into a colander and rinse under running water for at least 30 seconds. Drain well.
Combine the rinsed quinoa and water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 20 minutes (small amounts of quinoa will be ready closer to 10 minutes; larger amounts between 15 to 20). Reduce heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer.
Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. This step gives the quinoa time to pop open and fluff. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
For the Dressing
In a liquid measuring cup or jar, combine the olive oil, tahini, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and several twists of black pepper. Whisk until thoroughly blended.
Add the cold water, and whisk again.
The dressing should become creamy. Add more lemon juice and pepper, to taste.
If the dressing is too thick to drizzle, whisk in more cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Store in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week. If the dressing thickens; simply thin it with a little more cool water as needed.
Assembly
Assemble your chosen veggies.
Spoon in the dressing on the bottom of your jar.
Add in the quinoa
Add your other ingredients next
Finish it off with the leafy greens
A few minutes before eating, tip the jar upside down (so that the dressing is now at the top) and let the dressing slowly trickle down through the salad. Right before you eat the salad, give the jar a few good shakes and then take off the lid and enjoy!
If the jar is too full to toss it by shaking, pour the salad into a bowl then stir to combine your ingredients.