We’re definitely in the middle of spring around here, one day it’s all fresh tasting quinoa salads and sunshine, and the next it’s raining and I’m baking Double Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies – but… what can you do but enjoy the ride? I actually love spring, maybe it’s because the winters around here are rather long, but the first produce of spring fills me with more ambition in the kitchen than the last several months combined! And, I’ve been known to hop up and down in a ridiculous state over the first flower that blooms, even if it’s only a dandelion – anything other than more fluffy white snow!
For the asparagus, it looks nice to slice it on the bias – which only means you hold your knife differently. Simply slice it with your knife at a 45º angle (but perpendicular to the cutting board), like the above picture. Tip: If you go through a lot of strawberries, I recommend buying one of those tomato corers. They’re great for tomatoes, but they also get the tops off strawberries in a real hurry!
For the cucumber, peel 4-5 strips of the skin and cut off both ends. Then, cut it lengthwise into quarters and finally cut the quarters crosswise to make thinly sliced triangles.
Place all the prepared produce in a large bowl and set it aside while you make the dressing. This basil vinaigrette is adapted from a previous basil dressing, but I added quite a bit more salt and lemon juice than my original recipe to compensate for the blandness of quinoa.
The quinoa for this salad should be cooked and cooled ahead of time. You could use it warm, but the leftovers won’t keep in that case. I find it easiest to cook some quinoa the day before when I’m making dinner. When it’s cooled a bit, I transfer it to the refrigerator where it will be ready the next day for a salad like this one. You can also cook some quinoa ahead if you do any food prepping at the beginning of the week – then you have it already on hand for a super quick salad.
So… raw asparagus – why does that sound wrong and why do we almost always cook it? I’m branching out this year and adding raw asparagus to all sorts of things. I’ve always been a fan of it raw, straight out of the garden – in fact I grew up eating it that way. But… something happens between the garden and the table and suddenly the asparagus is grilled or roasted. So here’s to more raw asparagus amazingness! No reviews
