What's in the box? Quinoa and CSA veggie salad

Friday, October 30, 2009

Pick-up #4

this week we had:

celery
broccoli
green onions
regular basil
baby spinach
arugula
mint
dandelion
radishes
italian parsley
baby bok choi
japanese cucumbers

Hi Tara -

Here's a recipe that was inspired by a spinach and quinoa salad in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. My variation includes varieties of vegetables from the CSA box. This recipe was a good source for finding other ways to eat and incorporate the dandelion greens: the lemon in this recipe helped cut down the bitterness. I don't mind the bitterness of the dandelions but found it a bit overpowering, when I cooked them simply by sauteing the greens w/ a bit of garlic.

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
cucumbers (from CSA box)
radishes (from CSA box)
spinach (from CSA box)
a couple handfuls of dandelion greens
1 lemon
salt and pepper
about 1/2 cup lemon vinaigrette

Directions:

1) cook the quinoa: bring water to a boil. add quinoa. cook for about 16-20 minutes. stir occasionally. (notes: be careful
not to overcook and check for done-ness sooner rather than later. overcooking can happen pretty quickly. if it's overcooked
the quinoa gets mushy.)

1a) drain cooked quinoa and rinse with cold water - set aside

2) roughly chop spinach and dandelion greens. wash it well, dry it. combine in a bowl.

3) segment the lemon as you would a grapefruit - it need not be neat, but get as much of the flesh as you can and toss the segments with the spinach and dandelion greens. sprinkle with salt and pepper (notes: I noticed this step helps wilt the greens)

4) dice the cucumbers and radishes

5) toss the drained quinoa with the spinach, dandelion greens, cucumbers, and radishes, then spoon the lemon vinaigrette to taste.

lemon vinaigrette

1/2 cup virgin olive oil
3 T wine vinegar, or more to taste (or lemon juice or a mix of both)
salt and pepper
1 large shallot

1) combine all the ingredients except the shallot in blender and turn the machine on; a creamy emulsion will form within 30 seconds. taste and add more vinegar (or lemon juice) a teaspoon or 2 at a time until the balance tastes right to you

2) add the shallot and turn the machine on and off a few times until the shallot is minced within the dressing. taste, adjust the
seasoning and serve. (this is best made fresh but will keep refrigerated for a few days. bring back to room temperature and whisk briefly before using)

Enjoy!

Thanks,
Treven