Ella Henry’s Spring Green Pesto Quinoa Salad
I tend to fall into routines with salads. I know my favorite spices, ingredients, and cooking methods.
But there is nothing better than discovering a new salad combination that you wouldn’t have come up with on your own. Ella Henry’s Spring Green Pesto Quinoa Salad has been just that for me this spring.
It takes a little extra effort but if you make enough, you can happily snack on it throughout the whole week. Below is her recipe with my minor edits in bold.
Happy eating!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2/3 cup pistachio pesto
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 small cucumbers
- 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
- 2 tbsp chives (chopped) *I didn’t use chives
- 1 cup packed arugula
- 3 tbsp EVOO (not including what’s needed to sauté) *I used Ghee
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 lemon squeeze *I used 2 whole lemons
- 1/3 cup pistachios
- 1/2 avocado *I didn’t add avo
- Flakey Salt n Pepper
Recipe:
1. Cook quinoa* & make pesto*
2. Chop fennel
3. Heat up pan over medium heat and add in a couple TBSP EVOO *Ghee and frozen peas and chopped fennel
4. Salt and toss around, cover, mixing every few minutes until cooked and softened, then remove from heat
5. Chop up cucumber, parsley and chives
6. Once quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and set aside 1 cup of it, mix with pistachio pesto
7. Add arugula to a large bowl and add in pesto quinoa, sautéed veggies, cucumber, herbs, evoo, vinegar, lemon salt n pepper and pistachios and toss
8. Serve as much as you want with some avocado, and enjoy!
*Quinoa *I just made the quinoa with water like normal
1. Melt 1 tbsp ghee in a pan
2. Add in 1 cup dried quinoa and toss in the ghee and let it slightly toast on low heat until you hear faint popping
3. Then cover in 2 cups of filtered water or broth or half n half
4. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for about 22 minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked
5. Use fork to fluff it up
*Pistachio Pesto Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pistachios
- 1 cup basil
- 1/2 squeeze lemon
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup Parmesan (or nutritional yeast if DF)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (+ a lil extra to blend)
- Salt n pepper
- *1/2 cup spinach
Pesto Recipe
1. Put everything besides olive oil into a food processor & slowly pulse to combine
2. Once combined, slowly pulse in olive oil to blend until you reach desired consistency