Summer Quinoa Salad

Today is our "annual" lab picnic.  My boss is celiac, so I decided to create a gluten free quinoa salad with all those beautiful vegetables we received this week in the CSA share.  I got a lot of input with my friends on Facebook and here is the final result:

Summer Vegetable Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 1/2 cups water
• salt
• 1 medium yellow squash*
• 1 medium tomato, seeded*
• 1 cup spinach leaves*
• 3 basil leaves
• 4 oz quark*
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp grainy mustard

The night before, wash squash and dry.  Dice into 1/4-1/2-inch pieces (whatever size you prefer).  In a large container, whisk together sugar vinegar and mustard.  Add squash and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bring salted water to a boil.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to steam for another 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork; set aside.

Wash all remaining vegetables; dry.  Add olive oil to squash mixture and mix well.  Dice tomatoes and add to squash; mix well.  Add quinoa and mix well.  Chiffonade (see note) spinach and basil leaves.  Stir into quinoa mixture.  Crumble quark (see note) over entire mixture; mix well.  Cover and return to refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

*CSA ingredients


Notes:

1) Chiffonade refers to a very thin slicing.  Wash leaves and dry very well.  Stack leaves and roll together.  Using a very sharp knife, so you will not bruise the leaves, thinly slice across the roll.  When finished, fluff the slices.  This makes a very pretty garnish for salads or even main dishes.

2) Suggestions were made to use Feta in this salad.  I did not have Feta, however, I did have Quark.  Quark is a dry savory cream spreadable cheese of German origin.  I had never tried it before, but for those who think that Feta is a bit too sharp, this would make a nice substitute.