Strawberry Quinoa Salad With Brie

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A delightfully decadent strawberry salad with brie cheese, quinoa, kale, chard & spinach. Whether you top this with a sweet grainy mustard vinaigrette, or eat it on its own, this is a healthy and delicious salad fit for any occasion.

For a complete meal why not serve your salad with Poached Chicken for that all-important protein? Or you could try Air Fryer Salmon for a fresh summery vibe!

Strawberry Quinoa Salad With Brie

When you think of salads, you typically think of things like tomatoes, shredded carrots, and cucumber. So adding fruit to a salad might seem pretty strange at first.

However, once you’ve tried it, you will find yourself adding berries to every salad. There is something surprisingly delicious and decadent about adding sweet fruits to an ostensibly savory salad, and it just helps bring everything together and make everything taste amazing.

Plus, if you can serve your fruitier salad with some quinoa and some brie, it’ll be even better.

How To Cook Quinoa

The first step to preparing your salad is to cook your quinoa. Cooking quinoa is similar to cooking rice and will take roughly fifteen minutes.

The first thing you are going to want to do is to rinse your quinoa under cold water, in just the same way that you would when cooking rice. Then into a pan, add 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa and a pinch of salt. You could also use chicken stock in place of water if you have some available, so as to give your quinoa a more savory flavor.

Bring your water or stock up to a rolling boil and then leave to cook for 10 to 15 minutes with the lid on. You should be able to tell when your quinoa is done as it should have absorbed most of the water. The quinoa will also turn translucent and lose its crunchy texture while still having a bite to it.

Rather than cooking fresh quinoa every time you feel like adding it to a salad, you can instead cook a large batch and store it in the fridge for several days ready to use when putting your salad together.

Do You Have To Use Kale, Spinach, And Chard?

The greens make up the core of every salad, and while you could always grab a cheap iceberg and pile your toppings on, it really is noticeable when you pair your chosen greens with the rest of the ingredients in your salad more deliberately.

In the case of this strawberry, quinoa, and brie salad, you really want to be using deeper leafy green. Something like kale, spinach, or chard work so well; they not only taste rich and intense, but they cope much better with the heat from the vinaigrette and quinoa than some of the salad leaves do.

The combination of three different greens also adds a layer of complexity to both the texture and taste of the salad making every bite feel slightly different. If you are not a fan of one of the leafy greens in this salad, don’t let that put you off, as you can always substitute it out for a similar salad leaf. For example, things like butter lettuce, arugula, and mustard greens will all work just as well with the ingredients in this salad.

How To Keep Your Salad Fresh When Packing It For A Lunch

While you want the hot quinoa and vinaigrette to wilt your salad leaves slightly, you don’t want them to turn your entire salad into a soggy mess. If you are eating your salad straight away you should not have a problem, however, if you are packing it for lunch you are likely to be greeted by a pile of soggy greens when you open up your lunch box.

The easiest way to avoid the spinach, kale, and chard absorbing too much water is to keep the vinaigrette and quinoa in a separate pot. You can then combine the two parts of your salad at lunchtime.

Keeping the hot and cold ingredients separate will mean that the brie does not get a chance to soften, but as it is already a very soft cheese this shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of the salad too much.

Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have access to a microwave at lunchtime you can heat the vinaigrette at a low temperature before drizzling it over the greens.

Extra Toppings You Could Add To Your Salad

One of the best things about salads is that they very rarely go wrong, even for those with very little experience in the kitchen. As long as you like the ingredients you are using you can get away with adding almost anything as a topping.

So, why not get creative and add some of your favorite salad toppings to your strawberry quinoa salad!

• Blueberries

The idea of putting blueberries on a salad might seem strange at first but works surprisingly well. Blueberries make a great addition to this salad in particular pairing with the strawberries for a fresh, fruity, and summery feeling salad.

• Diced Avocado 

Avocados are another one of those ingredients that you can add to almost any salad. Avocado and brie work well together in almost any situation making a handful of diced avocado an excellent addition to your strawberry and brie salad!

• Sunflower Seeds

Seeds are a good way to add a slight crunch to a salad without overly impacting the taste or overshadowing the other ingredients. While most seeds will work sprinkled on top of your salad sunflower seeds are always a good choice!

Looking for more delicious Salad recipes? Try these out:

• Strawberry Spinach Salad

• Kiwi, Lime & Strawberry Salad

• Kale & Mixed Bean Salad

Happy Cooking!

Love,

Karlynn

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