Quinoa, Watercress, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad with Roasted Asparagus
A light but satisfying quinoa salad with a good mix of textures and flavours. Perfect for picnics or lunch boxes, it makes an excellent summer lunch or supper.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Lunch, Picnics, Supper
Cuisine: British
Keyword: asparagus, blue cheese, quinoa, salad, summer, walnuts, watercress
75gblue cheeseroughly chopped (I used Cornish Blue)
Instructions
Snap off the bottoms of the asparagus spears, reserving the actual spears for later. Simmer them in some water seasoned with a pinch of sea salt for about ten minutes or so to create an asparagus stock.
6-8 asparagus spears, sea salt flakes
Cover the quinoa with water and boil for about 2 minutes. Drain and return to the pan with about twice the amount of asparagus stock to quinoa. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat leaving the pan lid on to continue the cooking process.
125 g quinoa
Finely grate the zest from the lemon and add it to a small bowl with the shallot. Squeeze on the lemon juice and add a pinch of sea salt. Leave to marinade.
1 organic lemon, 1 shallot
Drizzle the asparagus with a little lemon oil, sprinkle on a pinch of sea salt flakes and roast at 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6) for ten minutes or until just tender.
1 drizzle lemon oil
Put the cooked quinoa in a large bowl and using a fork to keep it fluffy, mix in the shallot and lemon juice along with the walnut oil. Allow to cool a little.
3 tbsp walnut oil
Make sure the quinoa is no longer hot, then gently mix in the watercress followed by the walnuts and blue cheese.
75 g watercress, 40 g walnuts, 75 g blue cheese
Divide the mixture up into bowls or lunch boxes and top with a couple of roasted asparagus spears.
Notes
Makes enough for 4 people for a light lunch, or 2-3 people for dinner.The asparagus is optional and if not wanted, water can be used instead of asparagus stock.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They're approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.