Quinoa Avocado Salad and Broccoli Chickpea Salad

To cope with the 40 degree weather we had a fortnight ago, I made two salads the day before. I'm not really a salad type gal, I think lettuce based salads are boring and unnecessary but if it the salad is based around beans/grains/noodles then it's a different story. Inspired by Michael's dish at a potluck, we made Quinoa avocado salad which seems to be a popular Melbourne salad lately, Steph recently blogged about and Emily started the blogging inspiration.

Quinoa Avocado Salad
serves 4
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
2 large lemons
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 medium firm-ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
5 sprigs coriander, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup almonds
4 tbs white sesame seeds (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper
In a medium bowl, soak the raisins in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside (I didn’t do this, but if yours are rock hard, then you should)
Heat saucepan and toast almonds until brown. Turn off heat and crush almonds with a mortar and pestle. Toss in sesame seeds in pan while pan is still hot, and toss it around till brown. Remove from heat.
In same saucepan, bring water, quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with fork and leave to cool.
In a small bowl, zest and juice lemons. Whisk in olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt.
In a large bowl, toss vinaigrette with the quinoa, raisins, avocado, coriander, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

This was delicious, although not quite as tasty as I remember Michael's version that I tasted. Maybe it was because I skipped the coriander and sesame seeds.

I also made this super easy broccoli chickpea salad from Martha Stewart but without onion. Unfortunately this was quite boring so I added more mustard and mayonnaise.

Broccoli, Chickpea and Cherry Tomato salad

Serves 6.

• 1 pound broccoli, separated into florets (4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1. In a large saucepan with a steamer insert, bring 1 inch of water to a boil. Add broccoli, cover, and steam until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together Dijon, vinegar, oil, and onion; season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and broccoli. Toss to coat with dressing. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

It wasn't the greatest salad in the world but simple and still tasty. I'm kind of biased though since I adore chickpeas and can eat them plain.

Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad

I hate lettuce based salads but am happy to have salads which involve grains, beans etc particularly when the weather reaches 40 degrees.

This salad is appropriately named Lazy Day Peanut Noodle Salad by 101 cookbooks. It thankfully lives up to the title, it's so easy. We made a few substitutions using smoked tofu and rice noodles instead of soba noodles. Why do soba noodles always seem to contain wheat?  We also didn't use onions or peanuts. We also ended up adding more sauce.

Lazy Day Noodle Salad by 101 Cookbooks

1 8 ounce package soba noodles (use rice noodles to make gf)
1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed then cut into 1/2-inch segments (we used broccoli)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
1 small bunch of spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced (we skipped this)
1/2 cup peanuts (we also skipped this)
12 ounces extra-firm (organic) tofu, cut into small cubes (use smoked tofu)

Big a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the noodles per package instructions.In the last minute or so of cooking toss in the asparagus. Drain noodles and asparagus, run under cold water for about a minute to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and a big pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Thin with hot water - the amount you'll need depends on the original consistency of your peanut butter. I like it the consistency of a thin (non-Greek) yogurt. Taste and season with a bit more salt if needed.
Gently toss the noodles, asparagus, spring onions, peanuts, and tofu with a big splash of the dressing. Add more dressing a bit at a time, until the salad is dressed to your liking, reserving any extra for another use. Taste, sprinkle with more salt if needed, and enjoy!