Sesame-Honey Quinoa and Carrot Salad with Sliced Avocado
This beautiful vegetarian (or vegan!) salad is a satisfying combination of earthy grains, crunchy carrots, and creamy avocado with a sweet-savory dressing.
In a medium-sized saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until tender. Add the water, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the water is absorbed, 10 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and let come to room temperature.
Meanwhile, in a blender or a food processor, puree the rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, soy sauce, mint, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Place the cooled quinoa in a bowl, add the carrots and the dressing, and toss to thoroughly combine. Turn it into a shallow serving bowl and arrange the avocado attractively on the top. An extra drizzle of olive oil and a bit more salt and pepper is nice.
Notes
As with almost every grain salad, you should feel free to throw in what you have in the fridge — maybe some shredded small-diced zucchini, or other fresh herbs, or chopped tomatoes.
Add the avocado just before serving so it stays bright green.
While the quinoa is cooking, shred the carrots, mince the herbs, and make the dressing.
If you have leftover cooked quinoa feel free to use that instead of cooking the quinoa from scratch for this recipe. It will come together even faster!