Last week, I was so busy posting peach recipes that I failed to mention the massive bag of cherries I was snacking on in real life. I don’t think we’ll have a full-blown cherry week, but I do have several cherry recipes up my sleeve.
Today, I thought I’d share my new favorite summer salad. Seriously packed with flavor, it’s composed of peppery arugula, warm black quinoa, goat cheese, and gorgeous dark red cherries, tossed with an easy balsamic vinaigrette. If you can hunt down cherries before the end of summer, make this salad—you don’t want to wait another year for it!
Cherry, Arugula and Quinoa Salad
Author: Cookie and Kate
Recipe type: Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Salad
- One handful of dark cherries, pitted and sliced in half
- Goat cheese crumbles
- Arugula
- Cooked quinoa (red or black is preferable to white quinoa)
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa: measure out one cup of quinoa, pour into a colander, and rinse the quinoa under water for a minute. Pour the rinsed quinoa into a pot and add two cups water (you’re going for a 1:2 ratio of quinoa and water). Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat, let sit for a few minutes, and fluff with a fork.
- Assemble your salad: whisk together the dressing ingredients and toss with several handfuls of arugula. Add slightly warm quinoa, a good sprinkle of goat cheese, and cherries.
Notes
- Inspired by Kiss My Spatula’s Wild Arugula-Quinoa Salad with Cherries
- One cup of uncooked quinoa will yield enough cooked quinoa for about 3 or 4 salads. I like to have leftovers around for breakfast, but feel free to use 1/2 cup quinoa and one cup water if you don’t want much extra.
P.s. Big thanks to Women’s Health for featuring my peach salsa in their “What We’re Reading This Week” column!
17 Comments
Ok, this is eerie! I just posted a very similar recipe this morning… I guess great minds really do think alike ;).
Yummm! I’ve never put cherries in a salad but the idea sounds delicious! I’m so impressed with your culinary skills Kate. Those peach mojitos below sound right up my alley!
<3 kris&kel
http://www.krisandkel.com
Thanks Kristen! You’re too sweet.
Love this combination of ingredients! Black quinoa is fun too.
Oh Yum! I need to get my hands on some black quinoa so I can make this stat.
This salad is beautiful. I love the way it sounds too!
A very different salad and loved the freshness of cherry and loved the addition of quinoa! Great!!
Very interesting! I love the way you have used cherries here! Looks beautiful too :)
is red quinoa not the prettiest thing on the planet? Looks gorgeous and yummy!
Agreed! I much prefer the red and black varieties to the white—they’re prettier and tastier!
another great recipe using quinoa, kate! :) its funny that even tho its still winter here, i am beginning to see more and more cherries at my supermarket! i can imagine they go really well with the goats cheese!!
btw, all your peach recipe photos look so dreamy :)
this may be the first time i’ve seen cherries in a salad…and i love it. i bet it tastes so great mixed with the goat cheese. i’ve been on a cherry kick all summer.
I made a nearly identical salad at the same time as G’s, but used wild rice instead of quinoa. Any kind of grain salad is a winner in my book! Pictures are lovely.
Yum, that sounds great! I’m kind of obsessed with tossing warm grains (I need to try wild rice) into salads. They add such a nice temperature/texture contrast.
Amazing blog!!! I have highlighted a few of your recipes on my community blog on Facebook. Hopefully you’ll come check it out:)
C
Thank you for sharing my recipes with your Facebook followers! I’m so glad you enjoy my blog.
Oooohhh yum! I just recently discovered quinoa and I’m definitely going to make this once summer rolls around! :)
4 Trackbacks
[...] more quinoa recipes, check out this post on breakfast quinoa, this cherry, arugula and quinoa salad and my roasted tofu with steamed veggies recipe. You might also like my colorful chickpea salad [...]
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