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9.03.2013

Quinoa And Grilled Sourdough Salad

Hey, guys. Do you see these tomatoes? I grew them! I'm pretty impressed that I've been able to keep the plants alive and get some gorgeous little tomatoes. I planted all plum tomatoes, but they've been coming out different shapes and sizes. My initial plan was to grate them and turn them into sauce, but I really didn't have enough of them to make very much sauce, so I used them in a salad instead. 

Garden tomatoes


And not just any salad... a quinoa and grilled sourdough salad from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I've made a number of recipes from Plenty and some from Jerusalem too, and I am a big fan of Ottolenghi's recipes. This salad lived up to my expectations.

It starts with some diced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Diced cucumbers and tomatoes

Then it gets a little thinly sliced red onion.

Diced cucumbers and tomatoes with thinly sliced red onion

Some cooked quinoa and fresh herbs (cilantro, parlsey, and mint) bolster it and perk up its flavor, respectively.

Quinoa with fresh herbs and vegetables

And some olive-oil-brushed, salted, crisped sourdough bread adds crunch, as well as soaks up some of the dressing and the juices from the tomatoes and cucumber.

Making quinoa and grilled sourdough salad

Everything gets mixed together with a little lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and minced garlic.

Quinoa salad

And then it gets put in a serving bowl and served. It's a great summer salad -- the perfect way to use up garden cucumbers and tomatoes as well as lots of herbs.

Quinoa and grilled sourdough salad

As much as I loved the salad -- it has various textures and nice, bright flavors going on -- I'd probably cut back the bread to one slice (the recipe calls for four) and up the quinoa from 1/4 cup to 1 whole cup.

You can find a version of the recipe (it's not exactly the same as what's in the book) on The Guardian's website.

Do you enjoy bread salads, like panzanella?

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