Quinoa and Broccoli Spoon Salad

Although this salad sounds great (with the exception of the cheddar, which I cannot eat) raw broccoli is not appealing. I always briefly parboil chopped broccoli then plunge in ice water to stop the cooking if I plan to use it in a salad. Not only does this improve the flavor, it brightens the color to a very pretty and palatable bright green.

A note on raw broccoli: Melissa Clark notes in her recipe for garlic broccoli salad with sesame dressing that the vinegar « cooks » the raw broccoli, kind of like happens with the fish in ceviche. I’ve tried it and it’s really good; it’s not like plain raw broccoli at all. I recommend that all the skeptics try it.

"Feel free to substitute the quinoa for any grain, like brown rice, farro or buckwheat groats..." FYI, for anyone over the age of 40, what this means is, feel free to substitute any grain for quinoa. Quinoa is in the recipe as written. Other grains could be substituted for it. (When did the meaning of "substitute for" change to mean its opposite? Millennials will try to argue it's always been used this way, and for them maybe it has, but for Gen-Xers and Boomers, it used to mean the opposite.

The cheddar is what tipped the balance for me and convinced me to add this to this week's meal list! But of course it isn't 100% necessary--the recipe police won't come to your house and arrest you if you leave it out. Or maybe you could replace it with crumbled feta...that sounds pretty good too.

Followed recipe exactly and it was perfect. So glad I did not follow advice to parboil the broccoli. This is really good.

Even though I’m not a fan of raw broccoli, I gave this recipe a try. I used toasted walnuts because I didn’t have any pecans. It was absolutely delicious! I will absolutely make this again. I grated the cheddar because it’s easier than chopping. Extra sharp cheddar adds a very special taste to this dish.

Chop the broccoli finely and let it macerate in the dressing a few minutes as you prep the remaining ingredients. I was skeptical at the outset but the raw broccoli worked great and the result was delicious. I did hold back some of the quinoa because the recipe as written makes such a large quantity. This means mine was even more broccoli forward. I cooked the quinoa in the Instant Pot, which also made the whole process easier.

Delicious! Also nice to add some heat (finely chopped chili I had around) - and some herbs (a tiny bit of mint and parsley in my case).

This was delicious! Bright flavor and very satisfying. The only change I made to the recipe was to squeeze the juice from the whole lemon which probably helps soften the broccoli and adds extra tasty tang to this delightful salad.

This recipe totally delivered. I decided to try it because I had everything in the recipe already. And I was surprised that I didn't need to change anything - no tweaking necessary. Really delicious. And it wasn't like eating raw broccoli. It's such a complex mix that nothing stands out and everything blends well.

This salad would be excellent with the Unexpected Cheddar from Trader Joe’s.

This recipe is very similar to one from Bon Appetit magazine that uses almonds, dates and scallions with cheddar and it’s easy to riff on the combinations based on what you have on hand (nuts, dried fruit, cheese type.) The raw broccoli makes the salad texturally, try it before you decide to parboil. The warm quinoa and the dressing soften the broccoli and the salad keeps well, it’s delicious with a fried egg on top!

Really delicious, and certain to become a weekday lunch favorite. I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the broccoli 'cured' in the dressing. I soaked the quinoa overnight (first time for me) and it turned out nice and fluffy with none of the bitter/soapy taste of past quinoas. I didn't have cheese and so added some green onion to bump up the savoriness of the dish.

I bet this would be fantastic with wild rice subbed for quinoa!

I made this tonight and it was delicious. Used dried blueberries because did not have cranberries and they were great. Such a bright tasty salad on a cold snowy January day.