Herby Feta, Quinoa, & Snow Pea Salad

What I have coming out of the garden right now is lettuce, snow peas and other peas, and herbs. Lots of herbs. Oh, and garlic scapes. They all come together in a vaguely Greek or Turkish flavoured salad which is pretty much a meal in itself. Since the quinoa needs to be cooked in advance and so do the snow peas, it does take a little advance planning, but it's very simple to put together. Leftovers will keep overnight in the fridge in reasonable quality, which is nice because this is a fairly big batch of salad.

I did put in 4 garlic scapes and you could definitely tell. Garlicky! Mr. Ferdzy kept commenting on how garlicky, but he was not complaining. Still, you should adjust your scapes accordingly. I also had a very heavy hand with the black pepper and I think that is a very good plan.

If Mr. Ferdzy would eat them, I would have garnished this with some olives. A few cherry tomatoes for some colour would have been nice, but mine are all still flowers. Radishes would have made an excellent and seasonal contribution, but mine are all over-ripe, if that's the word, and might as well have been carved from wood. This is why I have mostly given up growing radishes and stick to buying the little dears. Only I didn't. If you are better organized, by all means chop up a few and toss them in.

4 to 6 servings
cook the quinoa 2 hours or more in advance
30 minutes prep time to finish the salad

Cook the Quinoa & Snow Peas:
1 cup quinoa
1 2/3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
225 grams (1/2 pound) snow peas

Put the quinoa, water, and salt into a rice cooker. Turn on and cook. Once done, remove the pot from the cooker andl let the quinoa cool completely. This should be done at least an hour and up to 24 hours in advance. Keep it refrigerated once cool, if not using it right away.

Meanwhile just before continuing with making the salad, top and string the snow peas, and steam or blanch them until just tender - 2 minutes to blanch, perhaps a minute or so longer if steaming. Rinse immediately under cold water to stop them cooking any more and drain them well. 

Make the Salad:
2 to 4 garlic scapes
1/4 cup finely minced cilantro
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons finely minced mint
2 tablespoons finely minced dill
150 grams (5 ounces) feta cheese
the juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 to 12 lettuce leaves

Trim and finely mince the garlic scapes. Wash, dry, and mince all the remaining herbs. Put them in a mixing bowl with the crumbled feta cheese. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. Mix well.

Loosen and fluff up the quinoa and stir it in. Gently mix in the cooked and cooled snow peas. Serve the salad over the lettuce leaves, which should be washed and well dried first.





Last year at this time I made - oh, huh - Cheesy Pea & Pasta Salad. Apparently I really like those pea, carb, and dairy salads (and that's a true fact).

Posted in: Ontario Food