Showcasing a medley of summer vegetables, this fresh, vibrant salad is perfect for entertaining. And prep is simple—the vegetables are cooked on a stovetop grill pan, so you don’t have to fire up your grill. To bring out the grains’ nutty flavor, the recipe calls for toasting the quinoa on the stovetop before simmering it in water.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Servings
8
Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil
2 cups quinoa
3 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
Kosher salt, to taste
1 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
2 summer squashes, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, larger leaves torn
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, larger leaves torn
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Directions
In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the quinoa and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water, season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the grains are tender and the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let the quinoa cool.
Meanwhile, preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, gently toss together the onion, zucchini, squashes and 3 Tbs. of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, grill the vegetables, turning once, until nicely grill-marked and tender, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool slightly, then cut into rough 1/4-inch dice. Add the diced vegetables and the tomatoes to the pot with the quinoa and stir gently to combine.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Add the vinaigrette to the quinoa along with basil, mint and half of the cheese and stir to combine. Top with the remaining cheese and serve. Serves 6 to 8.
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Zuckererbse from
Feeds a villageGreat for a BBQ, pool or block party. . Quinoa and grilled vegetable can be done ahead of time. Delicious and very pretty when plated. Leftovers taste great the next day.
Date published: 2014-07-28
Rated 5 out of
5 by
Jesky from
Great to make aheadI made this for a church luncheon, and it came out great! We have vegan and gluten-free members, and by leaving out the cheese, both groups are covered. I put a little roasted garlic purée in the quinoa, and added both roasted asparagus and red pepper to the veggie mixture. I roasted the veggies in the oven, in batches so that they would be equally cooked according to type, which took extra time, but was worth the result.
Date published: 2013-09-07
Rated 5 out of
5 by
SwissMiss0099 from
Yummy yummy!This was delicious and made a big batch so I had a healthy satisfying lunch for several days. I cubed the grilled veggies so they were in more bite-size pieces and added red and green peppers. I am making every week this summer and will mix it up-- maybe artichoke hearts, eggplant, hearts of palm would be good additions? I liked it best served room temp.
Date published: 2013-06-17
Rated 5 out of
5 by
StefieLou from
Great for a Summer BBQ or Picnic!!!This is a great dish as a side or the main course! My aunt introduced me to the recipe, and she made it exactly as written (minus the feta) and I LOVED it!!!
I recreated it later in the week for my husband and I as a main weeknight meal. I added a grilled chicken breast cut into cubes to add more protein and nutrition.
I roasted the veggies, but they were super mushy. Grill is prob the way to to! I used slightly less olive oil, and added a little chicken broth to thin out the dressing. Very tasty. Can't wait to make it again!
Date published: 2013-05-06
Rated 4 out of
5 by
juliagulia from
Tasty and Healthful!I fixed this as a weeknight meal, but modified it quite a bit. I would suggest using your bbq grill or oven broiler for this because using the suggested grill pan is somewhat time consuming. I did four medium zucchini instead of the summer squash, and used half quinoa and half whole wheat couscous. I also cut up the vegetables after they had cooled to be more bite sized. I grilled the tomatoes whole too, they were delicious. I also used a half cup of Tessamae's lemon-garlic vinaigrette in place of the olive oil and in addition the the juice of one lemon, but I'm sure the recipe as is would be good, too. Served it with roasted halibut and steamed spinach.
