A quinoa salad full of spring
Quinoa salad with peas, favas, feta mint and lemon
I returned from Tuscany last Saturday night where I had spent ten amazing days teaching a food and lifestyle photography workshop.
My head jet-lagged and full of beautiful scenery. The rolling hills, the wildflowers everywhere, the faces, the food. I miss it.
I miss our students who enthusiastically joined us in every trip and every exercise.
I returned home to some beautiful handmade Mother’s Day presents that Jon and Miren had made for me while I was away. A birdhouse, a clay basket for my rings, drawings and paintings. And yesterday, we spent Mother’s Day at the farmer’s market where I procured so many vegetables for the week.
I plan to make this spring salad from my book full of quinoa, peas, favas, mint, lemon, feta, and a generous amount of olive oil. I have been craving salads loaded with texture and it seems it is what I eat most these days.
Oh and today I promised Miren we would make Emanuela’s mom’s chocolate and almond cake together. What an incredible woman she is. I cannot wait to tell you more about her and our time in Italy.
I will be back soon with more photos of our trip and the people we met.
Spring quinoa salad with peas, favas, lemon and feta
Serves 4 to 6
2 cups chicken stock or water
2 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¾ cup English peas
¾ cup baby lima beans
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup watercress
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock and ½ teaspoon of the salt to a boil. Add the quinoa, lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan, and cook for 15 minutes. The quinoa will absorb all the water. Transfer to a large bowl to cool, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring about 3 cups water and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt to a boil. Blanch the peas and lima beans in the water for about 1 minute. Drain the water and immediately submerge the peas and lima beans in a bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process and keep their color.
Add the blanched peas, lima beans, and the rest of the ingredients to the bowl with the quinoa. Toss and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Mmmh! Your salad looks really springy and mouth-watering with its light green colours.
Your food and lifestyle photography workshop sounds very interesting. Would like to have been a part of it. Have a nice week!
You should join us. It was fantastic!
I can not wait for you to update about that cake , it sounds stunning. I love the use greek inspired flavours for quinoa; it looks so light but yet filling.
I will be making the cake soon an shall share. My version will be dairy free. :)
A delightful and beautiful salad!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you!
This totally screams Spring! Love this recipe!
Let me know if you make it :)
This is possibly the most beautiful salad ever! I love the idea of combining fresh spring herbs and veg with crunchy quinoa and tangy cheese. :)
I’m all about texture is salads so I always look for something creamy and something crunchy.
Tuscany sounds like a dream now, I’d love to go there. And your salad will be like a small part of it for me.
It was like a dream!
I’d love to hear more about your time in Tuscany. We are planning a trip there in the fall. I’m eager to learn more about the food and culture.
I have made a few of your recipes and they were so delicious. I received your book as a gift and was so thrilled when I opened it.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Thank you very much Sarah and excited to hear you have the book. Tuscany was breathtaking. So green and full of flowers. Have fun!
Beautiful and inspiring (as always).
Thank you Adana.
How gorgeous! I love when a person can make a salad look sexy!
That’s a great compliment. Thank you!
Queridísima Aran,
qué fantástico que hayas estado en la Toscana! Cuánto me alegro! Pues Italia es mi segundo hogar, y sé muy bien cómo se siente uno estando allá: en casa. Verdad? Tanto podría decirte de Italia… que no bastaría ningún espacio para contenerlo. Algún día te conoceré en persona, y entonces hablaremos.
Imagino la dicha que traes, y comparto contigo esa hermosa plenitud.
Con muchísimo cariño…
Marisa
What a lovely spring salad! Such beautiful colours!
I’ve been making and eating a lot of quinoa salads lately.. This recipe would definitely be inspiring my next one.
Utterly delicious! I hope to get my hands on fresh favas soon. It’s so difficult to scour any, here in Orlando :D
Aran, we miss you too!! I need to make that cake as well…although I might need your help with the recipe :)
Big hugs!!
They give us so envy trip to Toscana. We would have pointed with his eyes closed. In these following dates must be beautiful.
Concerning the recipe has a wonderful pint! Fresh and spring. But whenever we tried quinoa salad has given us a taste a little bitter that we did not like much … happens to you?
Greetings ‘spicy’
Hola Aran,
I can’t wait to see the photos and read about the wonderful time you all had together! Maybe one day I will be able to participate to one of your workshop…. Still dreaming….
I miss Italy as you miss Spain ;) and every time I can read and learn positive things about it make me happy.
I made your quinoa salad just last Sunday!I have your book and I have tasted many recipes till now. It is one of the books I can say I have tasted a lot.
A presto y besos,
Daniela
That is wonderful that you have been cooking from the book Daniela. Thank you very much!
Delicious!
GiuseB
Beautiful..so inspiring. Going to buy ingredients today! Thank you for your lovely website.
I absolutely LOVE quinoa; I will have to try this recipe!
Are lima beans the same as lava beans?
I have just made this and it is really wonderful, light but full of flavour. Thanks so much for the recipe. xxx
I just discovered your site and love the recipes. Quinoa is a favorite salad here. Looking forward to using is as a flour. I am trying to cook tasty gluten-free, dairy-free food for my family as some of us also have an intolerance. I am planning on visiting you at WS in Bellevue this Saturday in hopes of gaining a bit of your cooking knowledge. BTW, I am especially drawn to your cooking/writing because my family is also Basque…it brings back memories to hear your family stories.
Looking forward to meeting you on Saturday then!
This salad looks, as always, so yummy, elegant and earthy!
Cannot wait to see your Tuscan posts… In the meantime, I must ask… Any chance of teaching in th UK?
You have a following here!
Made this last night for dinner – needed something light and cool to counteract the 85+ unseasonably warm Colorado spring & this was perfect! Lovely recipe!
Hola Aran,
antes de nada felicitarte por todo el trabajo que haces, me encaaaanta!!!!!!! Las recetas, las fotos, las historias que cuentas… Simplemente maravilloso.
¿Para cuándo el libro en castellano? Sería genial!!!!!! ;)
Te deseo todo lo mejor.
I’ve never thought a salad can look this good! It’s incredible :)
Your salad looks wonderful. I have about 2 pounds of quinoa left from a 4 pound bag, so I’m always on the look out for new ways to make it into a tasty meal.
That salad looks so refreshing. So spring! Will have to bookmark the recipe for later. I love the green and white of the plate against the green and white of the salad. So pretty.
Don’t have quinoa but I think this would be great with the farro I’ve been meaning to use!
The salad looks delicious. I can not wait to make it. Thank you for the inspiration.
Aran: What a gorgeous, full of texture salad. Me encanta!!! The weather is starting to change. I am looking forward to try some of the salads from your beautiful cookbook. I am glad that you had a great time in Tuscany and a happy Mother’s Day.
Yummy! Thanks a lot :)))
What a beautiful burst of colour!
xo Ella
WOW, that looks and sounds just great. I love quinoa, so I just have to try this. Thanks
If this is not the epitome of spring, I don’t know what is. I’m on a fava kick these days and think I have finally been convinced to try quinoa.
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The spring salad looks amazing on that plate. Really makes the green pop.
Sounds like an amazing month of May! I too spent Mother’s Day at a farmers market-it was a wonderful day. The salad is beautiful, a must make on my list, as I adore quinoa…and limas for that matter!
Ciao ho scoperto da poco il tuo blog, e ne sono rimasta incantata, bellissime le ricette e meravigliose le fotografie, abbiamo le stesse passioni, cibo e foto, posso chiederti quale obiettivo preferisci usare per le tue foto, sono così belle luminose…
Un abbraccio Simona
This salad looks lovely. I love quinoa and this looks such a refreshing dish. I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow. I like your plate too!
[…] We are on the healthy lifestyle wagoon- this quinoa spring salad was such a hit last week, and it kept well as light and healthy lunch […]
pretty colors
My (Celiac) husband is cooking his way through your cook book and I am feeling pretty lucky! This salad is on the menu for tomorrow. Yum. Thank you for being such an inspiration to him!
That is so wonderful to hear. Thank you for sharing!
I could get nutritional stats plz, calories etc per serving thanks
I became acquainted with quinoa a little over a year ago, and since then cannot get enough of it. This is a beautiful salad!
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[…] inspirerades av den här rätten och lagade något liknande av det jag hade hemma. Har börjat köpa majskyckling. Värt varenda […]
Thank you Aran for the beautiful idea of a healthy salad. I love kinoa. I will make it very soon.
I watched the video of your book, it is fantastic, I really like you and what you are doing. Hope you visit my blog too. Best regards, Ani
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[…] We are on the healthy lifestyle wagoon- this quinoa spring salad was such a hit last week, and it kept well as light and healthy lunch […]