Quinoa and Asparagus Salad

Once again, I am indebted to the Food, Wine & Song Facebook page for motivation. I was looking for something healthy and interesting, when this recipe from the NY Times caught my eye via Food, Wine & Song. I made no adjustments to the recipe, except that I skipped the goat cheese and I used sprouted quinoa.

Sprouted quinoa, according to the box, can be eaten raw (simply rehydrated). I prefer cooked quinoa, so this was not an issue, but it did give me some flexibility with the cooking time as not all of the grains were evenly cooked. This was fine.

It has been awhile since I've made quinoa, and I forgot that it absorbs salt rather well. I went a bit overboard with the salt in the water, and was slightly worried (this is also why I left the goat cheese out). Luckily, I let the salad sit for several hours and the radishes and asparagus took some of the salt. AND the dressing was a total lifesaver--the lemon buttermilk dressing hid the saltiness of the quinoa, and brought out the flavors of the veggies. I definitely recommend making the salad ahead as it will result in a better distribution of flavors. This is a fantastic summer salad---good for BBQs and as a main.

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