Curried Quinoa + Asparagus Salad

Recipe for Curried Quinoa + Asparagus Salad.
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  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings
  • Prep: 15 minutes
  • Cook: 20 minutes

A delicious, satisfying dish that is great as a main salad or served on the side with fish or chicken.

Ingredients

For the salad
1cup tri-colored quinoa, uncooked
1cup asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces on a diagonal
1 14-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 carrots, julienned
2tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
handful of dried cranberries
1 diced apple (optional)
salt and pepper
Ginger curry vinaigrette
juice of 1/2 lemon
2tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 heaped teaspoon madras curry powder
2teaspoons honey
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 clove garlic
1/2cup olive oil
Substitute with any color quinoa for this dish

Instructions

  1. Make the quinoa: In a large pot, cook the quinoa according to the package instructions. When it’s finished, spread it out evenly onto a baking sheet. Cool to room temperature. You can even pop it in the fridge if you’re impatient!
  2. Make the vinaigrette: In a blender (or food processor), blitz the first 6 vinaigrette ingredients. Slowly stream in the olive oil to emulsify. Taste the dressing and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and extra curry powder if desired. Set aside.
  3. Make the asparagus: In a large saute pan, add a splash of olive oil and warm over moderate heat. Add the chopped asparagus, season with salt and pepper, and saute until crisp tender. The time will depend on the size. It’s best to slightly under cook the asparagus as they will continue to cook once removed from the heat.
  4. Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the cooled quinoa, warm asparagus, chickpeas, and julienned carrots. Add the chopped cilantro, cranberries and apples (if using). Drizzle a little ginger curry vinaigrette over the salad and toss well.
  5. Serve the salad at room temperature with extra vinaigrette on the side.

Recipe courtesy of Emilie, the food writer and photographer behind The Clever Carrot. Her approach to cooking uses fresh and seasonal ingredients in a simplistic way. She’s big on flavor, without the fuss.