Seared Asparagus and Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese and Black Olive Vinaigrette

Posted by Dana McMahan on April 6, 2008

Sometimes I know exactly what I want for dinner. Today though, I had that frustrating feeling that comes from being tired of everything in my stable of tried-and-true dishes, but not energetic enough after a day of yard and house work to find something appealing, new and good for lunchovers. I browsed through Epicurious, didn't find anything, and then remembered a quinoa salad I ate a lot last summer. I found a version of that on Epicurious, then followed a link to an intriguing-sounding dish at the bottom of the page. It combined black olives, goat cheese, asparagus and quinoa.

Quinoa may sound like one of those obscure grains from a dusty bin in a health food store that nobody ever actually buys, but it's surprisingly good. Not a grain at all, it is actually the seed of a plant that is related to beets, chard and spinach. It's rich in amino acids and a host of other nutritious goodies. Quinoa is a great alternative to rice -- I find it more flavorful and it has a creamy, somewhat nutty texture and flavor. It's super versatile -- good at breakfast or dinner. If you haven't tried it yet, give this recipe, my version of Boby Flay's -- a shot.

For the quinoa and asparagus:
12 (or more) spears asparagus, trimmed
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
2 cups quinoa
8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 pitted kalamata olives

Melt butter in a pan (with ridges if you have one). Cut asparagus in halves or thirds and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, shaking and stirring occasionally until just cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.

Bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil. Add quinoa and cook until soft (about 10-15 minutes). Drain and rinse with cold water and drain again. Place the quinoa in a large bowl and add red wine vinegar, olive oil, cilantro and olive vinaigrette (recipe below). Mix well. Mound onto on plate and top with asparagus, goat cheese and 3 whole olives.

Black Olive Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 cup olive oil

Combine vinegar, mustard, cayenne powder, olives and olive oil in a blender and blend until smooth.

This dish is great at room temperature. It made four generous servings (two will be our lunch tomorrow).

The recipe could be adapted in many ways. I'd love to try it this sumer with basil, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.

TAGS: Asparagus, Goat Cheese, Quinoa
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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Brenda Bowling said:

quinoa, the hardest thing about it is how to pronounce, keen wah.

Also good to prepare like sweet rice as a breakfast dish with butter and sugar and a little cinamon, nutmeg and vanilla.

Posted at 07:51 PM, on April 8 2008

2

Brenda Bowling said:

you seem to have a thing for pans that impart ridges on your food

Posted at 07:53 PM, on April 8 2008

Seared Asparagus and Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese and Black Olive Vinaigrette

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