Quinoa Salad with Fruit and Herbs

This salad was just going to be this salad made with quinoa instead of couscous, because quinoa was what I had in the cupboard. I was going to take a photo, and put it on Facebook and Twitter and call it a day. I started glancing around the kitchen and the garden, however, and decided that a fresh pineapple needed to be included, as well as some pineapple sage. The result was a different enough salad to warrant the writing of another recipe.

The dressing for this salad is virtually identical to the original, but since I was going to include the fresh pineapple, I added a couple pinches of ground ginger to the mix. It really goes well with the fruit as well as with the lime, cumin, coriander, and mint. The proportions of herbs and fruit are also similar in this recipe, although I left out the chickpeas from the original. Quinoa is a complete protein, so I felt like the salad was nutritionally significant without them. If you want to make a more substantial meal out of this salad, you certainly could stir in some chickpeas or some black beans.

I love the way this salad turned out! The bright flavors of the fruits and herbs really set the tone, while the slightly nutty flavor of the quinoa could stay in the background, but still compliment the whole salad. I loved the mint with the fruit, quinoa, and dressing, but I have to admit to being of two minds about the pineapple sage. It has a bit of a fuzzy mouthfeel, and its flavor is rather bitter with just a bit of the fruity-floral tone I was hoping for. It was good enough, but I don’t think it’s worth seeking out for this salad if you don’t have ready access to it. I included it in the recipe below, but as “optional”.

 

Other herbs would be great here, too, I’m sure, and a salad like this would be a good place to experiment with them if you like to grow them. You also could swap in different fruits depending on what you can get or what you like. This particular combination was delightful, gently sweet, well-complimented by the earthy cumin and coriander, and enhanced by the bright flavors of the fresh herbs. A really fun way to eat well this summer!

Quinoa Salad with Nectarines, Pineapple, and Mint

Don’t worry about getting your hands on pineapple sage for this recipe. The mint is great, however, and worth putting in.

Swap another liquid sweetener for the honey to make this salad vegan.

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa

1 cup finely chopped nectarine

1 cup finely chopped pineapple

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint

Up to ¼ cup finely chopped pineapple sage, optional

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander seed

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

1. In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, nectarine, pineapple, onion, mint, pineapple sage if using, and lime zest. Gently toss together to combine.

2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk together until very well blended. Pour over the quinoa mixture and gently toss together to coat.

Makes 2-3 main-dish servings or about 6 side-dish servings. Refrigerate leftovers.

Other recipes like this one: Brown Rice Salad with Walnuts, Pears, and Blue Cheese; Couscous Salad with Nectarines and Chickpeas; Farro and Apple Salad with Craisins

One year ago: Asparagus Flatbread with Aged Gouda and Hazelnuts

Featured Ingredients: Fresh Herbs

One of the most exciting ways that I have improved the flavors coming out of my kitchen is cooking and baking with fresh herbs. The most satisfying way to begin that improvement has been to grow the herbs myself. Not only does that make it possible to pop wonderful and unique flavors into anything on demand, its also more economical. For the price of a container of fresh herbs (or, sometimes, not-so-fresh herbs) I can buy an herb plant or a package of herb seeds. Just a bit of care, and those plants can give me fresh flavors at my fingertips for months.

In a good year I grow a wide variety of herbs, and now I find a fairly long list of them to be essential: chives, sage, thyme, cilantro, oregano, parsley, dill, tarragon, rosemary, and different varieties of basil and mint. I’ve also had fun with summer savory and sweet stevia. This year, I’m happy to say that I’ve already got a bit of a starter kit going (Yay!), and so I’ve been perusing The Messy Apron Archives for recipes to kick-start a new season of cooking.

I have compiled a pared-down list of favorite recipes that feature fresh herbs. There’s quite a variety here: noodle dishes, soup, sauces, salads and baked goods. All have the vibrant flavors only fresh herbs can bring to a dish.

The simplest, and sometimes laziest, dishes are simple pasta dishes with noodles and often additional vegetables tossed with herbs. This post features more of a widely-applicable method rather than a recipe, my go-to method for quick suppers from late spring to early fall. 

 

I also love Asparagus and Pasta with Balsamic Tarragon Sauce and Bacon in the spring,

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Basil in the summer,

 

And Warm Noodles with Cilantro and Coconut Lime Dressing just about any time of year. (Cilantro, along with parsley, is actually easily and affordably sourced in supermarkets.)

 

If you can get garlic scapes in the spring, this Pasta Carbonara with Garlic Scapes and Garlic Chives is a delicious way to use them.

Herbs are also fantastic ingredients for jazzing up beans, which I cook with all the time. White Beans with Sage and Garlic is the first recipe I make when I feel like my sage plant has grown large enough to sacrifice plenty of leaves.

 

When I have herbs and the weather is cool, either in spring or fall, I make White Bean Soup with Fresh Herbs.

Toss cold beans with herbs, vinaigrette and a few other favorite ingredients and you get something delicious like White Bean Salad with Green Olives and Tarragon.

 

For an even simpler salad, there’s Fresh Peas with Mint.

When I have a bumper crop of herbs, I make pesto. There are four herb-based pesto varieties in The Archives, and I love them all: Basic Basil Pesto, Spinach Chive Pesto, Parsley Hazelnut Pesto, and Spicy Cilantro Mint Pesto.

If you need a dip instead of a sauce, there’s Garlic and Herb Vegetable Dip, which can feature just about any herb you like.

Or, there’s Spicy Eggplant Dip with Basil and Mint.

Finally, you surely can bake with fresh herbs as well. Tomato or grilled cheese sandwiches are fabulous on this Whole Wheat Cornmeal Bread with Basil

 

And Lemon, Lime and Basil Cookies are a fabulous sweet treat with which to celebrate your fresh herb crop.

I can’t wait to dive into these favorites as well as vary some of them with different herbs and other ingredients. Of course, there are plenty of new recipes to try, and I no longer have to put off the ones that feature fresh herbs. I’ve got fresh herbs at my fingertips!

Whole Wheat Bread with Hazelnuts and Cranberries

There are too many things to do. I don’t care who you are. There are just too many things to do. I’ve begun to understand that getting things done is really a matter of making good decisions. Decisions about what things to buckle down and do.

I finally decided to get this bread made when I realized I might not have much more time to use the fresh sage that’s still growing in a pot on my porch. I loved the idea of combining nuts, dried fruit, and fresh herbs in bread (raisins and rosemary go really well in this bread). I was a bit concerned, however, about the 100% whole-wheat-ness of the original recipe. I’ve always held on to at least a bit of white flour when baking bread, just because of my preference for its texture.

 

There was an entire 5-pound bag of white whole wheat flour (whole wheat flour from a lighter-colored variety of wheat) in my pantry, though, and I can’t remember what I was planning on using it for, so I took the leap and tried the white whole wheat in the bread, and left out the refined white flour. I was still a little worried, because I had tried white whole wheat flour before and found it disappointed. I think whole-grain proponents have been pushing that variety as if it could fool you into thinking it’s white flour, but really, it acts like whole wheat flour when baking. For this reason, I added a hefty dose of vital gluten to my bread. I need my bread to be like bread, not like crumbly bricks.

The 100% whole wheat-ness of the final result was pleasant and did not detract from the delicious flavors of good hazelnuts and hazelnut oil and cranberries, as well as the haunting lilt of the fresh sage. I made the dough into two small round loaves, enjoying it on its own or alongside a soup or stew, rather than as a sandwich bread, although I think it would be delicious as the platform for tartines or crostini. It’s great all by itself, though, and I love the combination of the nutty whole wheat, hazelnuts, sage, and sweet-tart cranberries.

I’m glad I decided to make this bread, and I’m glad I decided to try white whole wheat flour again. Never mind that I didn’t have any regular whole wheat flour to play with anyway. I was happy to have one less decision to make, so I could get something delicious done.

Hazelnut Cranberry Bread with Sage

Based on a recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine

I managed to find toasted and skinned hazelnuts in the store, but you can use the method in this post to toast and skin raw nuts if you wish.

1 ¼ cup warm water (about 100 F)

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons hazelnut oil

3 ½ cups white whole wheat flour, divided

2 tablespoons vital gluten flour

1 ½ teaspoon fine salt

¾ cup chopped hazelnuts, preferably toasted and skinned

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage

¾ cup dried cranberries

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer (or another large bowl), combine the water, yeast and brown sugar. Let stand about 5 minutes, or until the yeast appears foamy.

2. Add the hazelnut oil, 2 cups white whole wheat flour, and gluten. Mix at low speed using the paddle attachment for the mixer (or stir together if working by hand) to form a batter. Cover the bowl with a towel and let stand about 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes the batter should have puffed up from the activity of the yeast. Add the salt and about ½ cup flour. Begin kneading using the dough hook for the mixer. Continue kneading, adding as much of the remaining flour as you can while still keeping the dough smooth and stretchy. (If working by hand, stir in as much of the flour as you can, then turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead in enough flour to make a smooth, elastic dough). The kneading process (whether by machine or by hand) should take about 10 minutes and result in a stretchy but smooth dough.

4. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and work in the hazelnuts, sage and cranberries.

5. Shape the dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray (or grease it with oil or butter). Place the dough in the greased bowl. Spray or grease the top of the dough ball. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough. Cover all with a towel and let stand about 1 hour, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

6. Gently deflate the risen dough and shape it into a ball again. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes. Prepare a baking sheet by greasing it, or covering it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Divide the dough in half and shape it into two balls. Cover and let stand about 1 hour, or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Slash the dough balls across the top with a sharp knife.

8. Bake at 375 F for about 35 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and crusty on the outside, and tests done on the inside (it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, or a thermometer probe inserted in the bread reads about 200 F.) Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 2 round loaves of about 8-10 slices each.

Other recipes like this one: Rosemary Raisin Rye Bread, Sage and Onion Bread with Cornmeal

One year ago: Pasta with Sausage, Peppers and Olives