Asparagus is one of my favourite parts of spring and this asparagus quinoa salad is an amazing way to enjoy it! The base of this salad is the asparagus and quinoa, filled out with chickpeas, and seasoned with lemon, dill, and feta. The dressing is a a simple combination of olive oil, green onions, garlic, dijon mustard and honey. Instead of just throwing all of the dressing ingredients together and mixing, the whites of the green onions and garlic are briefly cooked in the oil, to extract their flavour into the oil. The whole salad can be made in about as much time as it takes to cook the quinoa, less than 30 minutes, and it’s great warm, at room temperature or chilled!
Asparagus Quinoa Salad
A light and fresh quinoa salad with asparagus, lemon, dill and feta.
ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 3/4 cups water (or broth)
- 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 green onions, sliced (divided, lights and greens) (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced/grated
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup feta, crumbled (optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill)
directions
- Bring the quinoa and water to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes, and let sit covered for 5 minutes before letting it cool.
- Meanwhile, boil, steam, pan-fry or roast the asparagus until cooked. (I like to cut the asparagus into chickpea sized pieces and quickly parboil them; cook them in boiling water until they just turn a darker green, before transferring them to cold water to stop the cooking process and keep them a little crisp.)
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add the whites of the green onions and cook for a minute before turning off the heat and mixing in teh garlic.
- Mix the green onion oil, with the lemon juice and zest, dijon mustard, honey, salt and pepper.
- Mix the quinoa, asparagus, dressing, the greens of the green onions, chickpeas, feta, and dil and enjoy!
Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon oregano to the dressing.
Option: Add fresh mint!
Note: This salad is amazing while still warm, and at room temperature, and when served chilled from the fridge!
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any problem using couscous instead?
Couscous works well! Cook the couscous as directed on the package and continue on with the recipe as written. Enjoy!