Six ingredients, tons of flavor, textures galore – all are in this Orange cherry quinoa salad. I might have found my favorite salad of the summer.
Stop the press. Hold the phone. Pause the internet. Is that a thing ??!!??I am all about this salad right now. This salad has oranges, cherries, cucumber, shallots, spinach, quinoa and it is covered in a bright lemon poppy seed vingerette. I am all in. I am so in love with all these bright happy flavors. It feels like summer in my mouth.
Can we get a little nostalgic for a minute? I love cherries. Growing up we had this huge cherry trees in my great grand parents house. It was my favorite place to hide out. I still remember climbing into the cherry tree and reading for hours. I would only come out to get water because I feasted on super ripe and juicy cherries. So basically I lived on cherries for the whole summer. It was bliss. It was my happy place. It makes me want to go out and buy a cherry tree. It just occurred to me that I have no clue where to buy a cherry tree. But I would buy it and plant a cherry tree for the kids. Ofcourse before I get too carried away, I remember that I don’t live on a farm and I have an association. Sooooo no go. Ahhhh, the struggle is real.
I was in the grocery store and they had cherry samples handing out to everyone. I was perhaps a bit too happy. One it wasn’t a Friday and it wasn’t a spread. I love fruit samples. Honestly they show give out fresh fruits. It makes everyone happy. So then I take another bite of my salad. Thoughts?? Happy place, happy place! And the vinaigrette. And if you wanted to add some goat cheese in the mix, I wouldn’t be mad at ya. I just so happened to make it for my cousin and she claims to to allergic to goats. But that is a story for another time.
I think the instructions for this salad should be wash some yummy stuff, chop, cover with some awesome sauce and enjoy. It is perfect way to enjoy a high protein vegan salad.
Orange Cherry Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- Vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon poppy seed
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Salad
- 6- ounce package baby spinach
- 1 cup precooked quinoa
- 1 cup fresh sweet cherries pitted and halved
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
- 1 -2 orange sliced thinly
- 1 english cucumber sliced thinly
Instructions
- Take the vingarette ingredients and place in a jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until sauce becomes creamy.
- Combine the salad ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover salad with 1/2 the salad dressing. Add more or serve the dressing along with salad (keep your options wide open). Toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!