Ingredients
For the quinoa salad:
- 200 g smoked tofu (I like the one with almonds & sesame seeds from Taifun), diced
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (200 g)
- 2 cups water (500 ml)
- 150 g shelled fava beans, from about 500 g pods or 1 cup frozen and thawed (alternatively use soy beans)
- 2 handfuls mixed salad greens (such as baby beet leaves, mizuna, or tatsoi)
- 2 handfuls baby spinach leaves
- 1 small bunch chopped coriander
- 30 g walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (alternatively use toasted raw cashews)
For the Asian-style dressing:
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1,5 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the quinoa and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. Then, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Transfer to a large serving bowl to cool.
- While the quinoa cools, prepare the fresh fava beans. First, shell away the fava beans outer pod. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the shelled fava beans for about 3 minutes (until just tender). Plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and remove the outer peel by squeezing the favas from their skins (if using frozen fava beans or edamame, cook 1-2 minutes, or 4-5 minutes if frozen).
- In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients (lemon, oils, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic).
- Add the tofu and beans to the bowl with the quinoa, pour over the dressing and toss well to combine. Add the salad greens, spinach, coriander and walnuts. Toss again to incorporate.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- The quinoa and fresh fava beans can easily be prepared and cooked in advance, so that you can assemble this salad in just 15 minutes. Simply toss all the ingredients together with the dressing before serving.
- Alternatively this salad can be served with grilled chicken breast. To cook the chicken: Rub the chicken with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Using a large grill skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 1 minute until golden on one side. Flip the chicken breasts over and cook on the other side until golden and grill marks appear. Reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes, flip the chicken using a pair of tongs and cook the other side for about 4-5 minutes, or until done (depending of size and thickness of chicken breasts).