Shortcut Recipes: Zucchini and Aspargus Quinoa Salad

Zucchini and
Asparagus Quinoa Salad

Recipe
adapted from 101 Cookbooks found here

3 large eggs

2 cups quinoa, cooked, room temperature
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (I used tamari almonds chopped)
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
a bit of chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

Prepare salad dressing by blending avocado,
lime juice, cilantro, garlic, cayenne pepper, chia seeds, yogurt (I used sour
cream because that’s what I had on hand), water, and salt in a blender (or us a
hand blender). Set aside.

Hard boil the three eggs. Place the eggs in a
pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now
turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big
bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking place them in the ice
bath for three minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven on 350-375. While the eggs are
cooling start preparing the zucchini and asparagus by tossing it with olive oil
and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Spread out zucchini and asparagus on a baking
sheet and cook until zucchini and asparagus are tender and cooked through,
roughly 10 minutes turning about half way through. Remove from oven and cut each
zucchini coin into quarters, and cut asparagus into bite-sized pieces.

Crack and peel eggs, cut each egg into
quarters lengthwise. Assemble the salad by tossing the quinoa with about 2/3
cups of the avocado vinaigrette (maybe even less). Top with the grilled
zucchini, pine nuts, eggs, goat cheese, and a bit of chopped cilantro for
garnish. Can be served as a side for dinner (we ate it with fish), or alone for
lunch.

Serves 4 to 6. 

Afterthoughts

Clearly I haven’t hopped off the quinoa bandwagon! It’s just so
versitle, you can eat it cold or hot, and it just absorbs anything you pair it
with. I think the only mistake you can make with quinoa is to under spice it or
overcook it. Basically anything you pair with rice you could sub in quinoa, but
know that you are eating a better grain.

As beautiful as this recipe is with its vibrant greens and yellows; this recipe was just okay. Honestly I think I put too much cilantro in
mine because I found it a little strong. I would definitely downgrade the cilantro next time.  Personally I would cut the eggs into smaller pieces,
as I found the large chunks to be a bit much texture wise. I gave it another go
for lunch today, and I will say that it was much much better the second time around
when all the flavors kind of melded together. I added chia seeds for extra-added
good fats and also because they help aid digestion! They expand in water, so they
get softer the longer they sit in liquid. Trust me you won’t even notice them, but
your easy going stomach and teeny waistline will! 

Hope you enjoy this recipe blog reader! 
xx
sp