Kale & Summer Squash Salad with Quinoa & Lemming (I mean Lemon)

10 Aug 2012
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Why cook when it's hot salad

It's happened. The only excuse I can offer is... it's hot. Too hot to cook and I can't think straight. I'm a little ashamed. But it's so darn delicious, I just did it– consequences be damned. I'm talking about Kale & Summer Squash Salad with Quinoa & Lemon of course. More specifically I'm talking about quinoa. I made a quinoa salad. A QUINOA SALAD! Do I have pink ribbons in my hair?

Quinoa is one of the current darling children of the food blogosphere. I bet it's even a healthy snack for kids. But my version (I hope) is a little more adult and very seasonally appropriate. Let me offer you an excuse, I mean defense for why I did this. First, like I said, quinoa is darn delicious. I eat it all the time. I just don't eat it in public with ribbons in my hair. But it's hot outside and I don't want to be in the kitchen. Quinoa cooks in a blink of an eye. There's no hanging over a hot stove involved. In fact you don't even have to be in the room while it cooks. It's that dependable. Paired with bright lemon, herbs and kale, it's the perfect hot weather meal. It's pretty on the plate too. Now I admit there are ribbons involved, but they come in the form of shaved summer squash. In manly tones of yellow & green.

Still, I realize this may be considered a lapse of judgment on my part. You see I was flipping through the pages of Bon Appetit, trying to generate a breeze on a hot afternoon. I came upon a quinoa salad quite similar to this one. I thought, why not make quinoa, and eat it proudly for all the world to see? I'm man enough, aren't I?

There's only 1 problem with this salad. It makes me a lemming. A quinoa lemming with yellow & green ribbons in his hair.

Quinoa salad with squash and kaleKale & Summer Squash Salad with Quinoa & Lemon serves 6 CLICK here for a printable recipe

  • 1/2 c quinoa, rinsed & drained
  • 2 t kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1 lb green and yellow summer squash
  • 2 T finely grated parmesan, plus more shavings as garnish
  • 1 t lemon zest
  • 2 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1 T sherry vinegar
  • 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pn freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 c tuscan kale
  • 1/2 c flat leaf parsley leaves
  • 1/2 c toasted walnuts
  • 1 c fresh basil leaves
  • 6 lemon wedges

Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons salt and quinoa, cover with lid and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until tender but , 12–15 minutes. Drain well and return quinoa to hot saucepan. Cover with lid and let sit for 15 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork and let cool.

Use a mandolin or vegetable peeler to thinly slice squash, some lengthwise and some crosswise.

Whisk grated Parmesan, zest, juice, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Combine squash, quinoa, kale, parsley, walnuts, and basil in a large bowl. Pour dressing over; toss to coat. Garnish with shaved Parmesan and lemon wedges.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

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I wonder what the heck you

I wonder what the heck you are talking about. I don't get any of the references to ribbons. Just give us the recipe and cut the crap

 

Deloris (not verified) | Oct 20th, 2012 at 1:29 pm | Reply

Oh my goodness, Greg.  This

Oh my goodness, Greg.  This looks so so so good.  Yeah, I love quinoa... not afraid to admit it.  But this salad... wow... it's perfection.  Can't wait to give it a try!

Brian @ A Thought For Food (not verified) | Aug 13th, 2012 at 6:18 pm | Reply

so i've never actually tried

so i've never actually tried quinoa yet, mostly because that has made me feel rebellious.  but seeing this post is making me think maybe i should actually at least try it.  this salad looks good, and it has been so hot here it is not fun to cook.

Jenn (not verified) | Aug 13th, 2012 at 11:47 am | Reply

The darling indeed

Well, yes, quinoa is the darling of the blogosphere.  I do not know about you, but for me, that alone often makes me shrink from writing about something.  But occasionally I slip and pile just on.  I'd say that quinoa, with its unique texture and flavor plus its health benefits is a topic well worth writing about.  Spread the gospel, as they say.

This is one gorgeous slad.  Your photo is seriously tempting, even before I gave the ingredients a good looking over.  With the varying textures of quinoa, squash, kale, walnuts and cheese, and the flavor kick of basil and lemon this sounds like a very satisfying one dish meal.   Bravo!

AdriBarr (not verified) | Aug 13th, 2012 at 8:41 am | Reply

Regret

I knew there was a reason I left my Sunday market with a nagging feeling of regret. It's because I passed on some summer squash that I could have used to make this salad. It's 80 here in Seattle, which is like 100 degrees on the Seattle scale. This salad and a well-chilled Sauvignon Blanc would be fantastic.

Jameson (not verified) | Aug 12th, 2012 at 5:28 pm | Reply

My kids

Actually do like quinoa which is awesome. I use it mostly for fridge clean up and sneak veggies and all sorts of stuff into it!Now I'm trying to fugure out if I'm a lemming of sorts, hmmm....

Gerry (not verified) | Aug 11th, 2012 at 11:45 pm | Reply

I love quinoa, and I love a

I love quinoa, and I love a good salad - even though it's the middle of winter here.  I even have kale and lemons on hand right now, so things are looking promising.  Summer squash might be a little hard to rustle up right now, but I've got fennel and avocado which I'm thinking could make a passable substitute for this time of year.

 

Actually, haven't all the lemmings move onto wheat berries?

 

Couscous & Consciousness (not verified) | Aug 11th, 2012 at 10:44 pm | Reply

haha "trying to generate a breeze"

Good to see you here. Hope that book has been shipped off to the printer (a) I'm dying to get my hands on it and (b) I like seeing you post on a regular basis. The salad looks wonderful ... the quinoa I'm not so sure about. I made it once and it wasn't love at first sight. Perhaps I have to try it again.

Joan Nova (not verified) | Aug 11th, 2012 at 9:33 am | Reply

I tried to like quinoa

But I just haven't liked it the three times we tried it.  I think it's the texture.  We tried three varieties too, even the Aztec red.  Oh well, I'm a bad food sheeple.  And no....I did not wear pink ribbons either ;)

Chris (not verified) | Aug 11th, 2012 at 8:44 am | Reply

I love quinoa or quinua,

I love quinoa or quinua, Greg! This is a delicious idea for this healthy grain!

Erica (not verified) | Aug 11th, 2012 at 8:39 am | Reply

Your honesty totally made my

Your honesty totally made my night. I'm trying not to picture you in ribbons though. LMAO, I refused to be a lemming for a long time as well. Hence the reason why you won't find a biscoff, nutella or smore recipe on my site. However, since we do eat quinoa every so often, I might have a recipe or two posted for this absurdly popular grain. Your salad looks and sounds great though and would absolutely perfect for this nasty weather.

P.S. Not that I'd turn down the above sweet treats when offered, I simply don't care enough to make them. Feel free to bake and ship them to me. Have a great weekend!

Mary (not verified) | Aug 10th, 2012 at 6:08 pm | Reply

I don't even...

...know what biscoff is! But nutella. It won't even melt. I think it's made with vaseline. GREG

jgreghenry | Aug 10th, 2012 at 7:00 pm | Reply

RIbbon

I would like to see you with ribbons in your hair! I'm with you. Hard to cook right now. But this is still GOOD food. I'll even pin it. (Healthy, blah blah blah).

angela@spinachtiger (not verified) | Aug 10th, 2012 at 2:17 pm | Reply

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