Quinoa Salad with Pan Roasted Asparagus

I, first of all, would like to thank everybody for your support on this event. It was a lot of fun cooking live and also meeting so many wonderful people. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was invited to a cook-off organized by Veria TV and Whole Foods Market "Unlock the Taste of Summer" In which I had to create a healthy summery dish in 15 minutes using asparagus. I was really happy when I found out that my mystery ingredient was asparagus. I just love them.

I finally choose to make a quinoa salad with pan-roasted asparagus. I was pleased with the way it came out and I should mention this is a dish I eat a lot specially during the summer time. Quinoa is also one of my favorite things because it's super healthy and very versatile. It could easily be used in desserts too. 

The event went great! I had a great time cooking in front of a live audience along with the other two ladies, who did a great job. Barbara, a raw food specialist did a fantastic job making a very creative RAW dish (mango cream sauce, served over spiralized zucchini and yellow squash) Lisa, also did a good job using spinach. I am very happy with the results, I had a blast and would do it all over again!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa

2 cups of water

1 small cucumber, diced

1/8 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove

1 lemon

8 asparagus, bottoms trimmed

1/4 cup black olives, pitted

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Place the water in a small pot and add the quinoa and 1 teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil. cover and reduce to simmer. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain excess liquid, if any. In a pot, boil the asparagus in salted water for 2 minutes. In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and then add the asparagus, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, saute for 2 minutes and add a squeeze of lemon juice. In a sauté pan with a lid, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and then add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, cook for 8 minutes covered with the lid, but do check on them often. Discard the garlic.

To assemble:

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, cucumbers, herbs, cherry tomatoes and black olives. Toss to mix thoroughly. 

Adjust seasoning, add a drizzle of olive oil and place asparagus on top.