This recipe for Greek Quinoa Salad comes from A Girl and Her Carrot. It is a good gateway dish for trying quinoa, if you have been reluctant to do so. I’m a big fan of Greek salads to begin with, and adding a grain (ok, a grass) to the mix is a nice riff on a traditional mix of vegetables.
I served the Greek Quinoa Salad with grilled eggplant, and hummus (store-bought) on baguettes. We ate dinner outside on our patio, and as I looked over my plate it occurred to me that this meal is the type of cooking I ultimately aspire to. The dinner was most importantly, delicious. But it was also inherently healthy without feeling like we were giving up taste or satiety in exchange. I’m able to get that feeling out of vegetable-based soups sometimes, so it was a little thrilling to find it in a salad-based meal as well.
A food blogger I admire recently wrote that she doesn’t understand people who write about recipes they made but didn’t care for, or that outright failed. I actually like to read posts like that, for two reasons. First, just because that blogger didn’t like it doesn’t mean I won’t, and I can definitely learn from their explanation of what didn’t work for them in that dish. For instance, perhaps they thought it had way too much cilantro (but I love cilantro) or they thought it was just OK, for quinoa (I’m not a huge fan of quinoa anyway, so I’d probably skip that one). And second, it makes me feel like part of a larger, human community to know that not everyone else’s dinners turn out perfectly all the time, but that we should still keep trying new recipes. That’s just part of cooking daily. Since I take a lot away from both positive and negative recipe recaps, I like to write them too. And yes, at the end of the day Chick in the Kitchen is a chronicle of my home cooking for my family. Sometimes it’s great, sometime’s it’s not. I want to share my happy successes and disappointing failures with you.
That said, this Pineapple Chicken Salad did not come together for me. The first problem was my chicken. I had made Chicken Soup earlier in the week, and although the meat from that chicken is usually perfect for a salad, it was overcooked this time and mushy. It had none of the firmness of a roasted chicken, and so texturally I couldn’t get into this dish at all. The contrast of the hard slivered almonds and mushy chicken was really unappealing; I kept feeling like there were bones in the salad. Although I used mayo (less than the recipe called for), I skipped the plain yogurt which might have added a nice tang. I subbed minced sweet onion for the green onions, which did nothing for the dish’s appearance. The Worcestershire sauce was interesting; it added a bit of a grilled flavor, but not enough to make we want to try it again. Overall, I’d prefer to stick to my regular fruit addition to chicken salad: halved grapes.
I’m curious: what do you think about bloggers that post recipes that didn’t turn out, whether they are run of the mill “I didn’t like this one” posts, or failures like how they burned three batches of cookies in row? Leave a comment and let me know.
This is a protein-packed, high fiber side dish that keeps for days in the fridge. I made it Sunday night and J. and I have been eating it bit by bit since then. In the past, I have been lukewarm about quinoa — I felt it had a grassy overtone that took over whatever preparation I tried. I did not feel that way with this dish, probably because the dressing — though there is a very small amount of it — is very bold on its own. You could add some chili oil or sriracha if you wanted a spicy version of this salad.
1 c. quinoa
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1 c. shelled edamame, fresh or frozen & thawed
4 green onions, finely chopped
Prepare quinoa according to package directions, rinsing first if necessary. Make sure there is no water left in the bottom of your quinoa pot at the end of cooking. If there is, uncover the pot and continue cooking over a medium heat until the remaining water evaporates.
While the quinoa is cooking, whisk together the sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Set aside. In a small pan, toast the sesame seeds for a few minutes over low heat, until they become fragrant and start to change color. Set aside.
Toss the dressing, toasted sesame seeds, edamame, and onions together with the cooked quinoa until they are well-combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve cold or room temperature.
The recipe this salad is based from, Mediterranean Barley with Chickpeas and Arugula from the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light, caught my eye as I was flipping through the magazine’s pages. I could identify all the ingredients just from looking at the photo, and they are all delicious. I had been looking for a light, high fiber dish that also had some protein in it that could keep in the fridge. J. often gets home late having not eaten since lunch, and a salad like this is the perfect small meal to tide him over until the next day.
I subbed wheat berries (the “berries” are really the entire kernel of wheat, with the hull removed) for the barley, since I had them in the house. You don’t have to soak them overnight, but they do take a long time to cook — about an hour. They have a similar texture and flavor to barley. I bought sun-dried tomatoes that were dry and reconstituted a handful in hot water before chopping them. I also added about three times the amount of arugula than the recipe called for, which made it more like grains in a green salad than greens in a grain dish. I forgot to sprinkle the pistachios on top the first time I ate this salad, and when I did add them the next day I didn’t think they added much. If you’re looking to save on cost or calories, you won’t miss them.
The heat from the drained wheat berries wilted the arugula just enough that it tasted blanched. I actually preferred the flavor of this meal the next day, once the arugula had soften even further. It is such a tough, hearty green that it easily holds up to several days in the fridge and still has some crunch to it. I think you could substitute kale with the same effect.
I really enjoyed this salad, and so did J. It felt like the kind of prepared salad you’d buy at a gourmet grocery. I’ll be making it again; it will be perfect for summer dinners.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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