Strawberry Goat Cheese Quinoa Salad

Strawberries are nearing the end of their season right now, so the time is ripe to go strawberry-crazy!

My local farmers market had a crazy deal this week: 3 baskets for just $5!! Can't beat that. And they're locally grown, to boot.

The good news, they're delicious. The bad news, they have to be eaten with 5 days or so before they start to turn, so we went a little strawberry cray-cray this week.

Strawberry smoothies, strawberries as snacks, strawberries in oatmeal, and yep, even strawberries in salads.

Guess where strawberries fit particularly well? With quinoa.

and leeks... and pistachios... and goat cheese... and parsley... and lemon... Basically everything good in the world.

And, SURPRISE, these are the ingredients in my newest recipe for Strawberry Goat Cheese Quinoa Salad.

It's a perfect light summer meal that can be thrown together quickly and doesn't heat up the whole house.

The sweet strawberries mesh perfectly with the creamy tangy goat cheese, and the salty pistachios add the perfect crunch. Serve with some breadsticks brushed with garlic olive oil, and you've got yourself a meal.

Recipe

Strawberry Goat Cheese Quinoa Salad

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Prep15 minutes mins

Cook20 minutes mins

Total35 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Ingredients 

• 2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced leeks, rinsed well
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ½ cups sugar snap peas, sliced into ½ inch pieces
• ½ cup pistachio pieces
• ½ cup minced parsley
• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 4 oz crumbled goat cheese

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

• Place the quinoa and water in a rice cooker or saucepan. If cooking in the rice cooker, cook on the white rice setting. If cooking in a saucepan, or bring the water to a boil, reduce the flame to bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed (or follow package directions). The quinoa is done when you can see the little spirals popping out of the grains and they are a translucent color. When the quinoa is done, fluff with a fork and place in a large serving bowl to cool.
• While the quinoa is cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Next, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet and add the leeks. Saute over medium-low heat for about 7 minutes, until tender. Then add the garlic and sugar snap peas and cook for another two minutes.
• Turn off the heat and add the leek/garlic/pea mixture to the quinoa. Add the pistachios, parsley, and vinaigrette and toss well to combine.
• Next add the strawberries and goat cheese and toss gently until just combined. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and enjoy.

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