Spring is finally arrived here on the prairies, and it arrived this past week with quite a bang! Warm winds blowing off the mountains have taken us from below-zero chills to sunny double-digit warmth, and you know what that means? It’s grilling season! My husband has been eager to dust off the barbecue and take his rightful place as the Head Meat Chef in the household, and in the past week we have enjoyed grilled pork chops, salmon burgers, and barbecued chicken. Delicious! With grilling in full swing here, salad season is here as well. I’ve been itching to experiment with some new salads this year, and first up is a delicious greek-inspired quinoa salad.
What’s simpler than a greek salad? Vegetables, cheese, and decadent salty olives in a simple olive oil vinaigrette is amazing on its own, butadding quinoa to this classic salad makes it a little extra hearty, the perfect starchy side to any grilled meat. It was kid-approved, too – my five year old daughter devoured her portion first and asked for more! We always have tomatoes and cucumbers in our fridge all summer, so this will surely be a barbecue staple in the months to come.
I was inspired to make a light salad with a simple vinaigrette after hearing about Flavour Your Life, a campaign by Unaprol, an Italian consortium of olive oil producers, to support Italian olive growers, and to share information about high-quality olive oil, including traceability. The website has loads of information on how olive oil is produced and processed, and a collection of mouth-watering recipes. I’d never really given much thought to where my beloved olive oil comes from or how it’s made, so I found it quite interesting to learn more.
Quinoa Greek Salad
(Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa
1 package (10 oz) grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 english cucumber, chopped
1 cup sun-dried olives
2/3 cup red onion, diced
6 oz feta cheese, cubed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon {~2 Tbsp}
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
pinch of salt
In a medium pot, bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until all liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the quinoa has cooled, add tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onion, and feta. Toss to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and salt. Pour over quinoa salad and toss gently to combine.
