Party Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion, peeled, trimmed, sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, sliced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, sliced
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise
- 1 medium yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
- 1 medium eggplant, trimmed, sliced
- 2 large Portobello mushrooms, stemmed
- 1-pound asparagus spears, ends trimmed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 2 ears fresh corn, corn silk removed, husks on
- 3 cups quinoa, cooked
- 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
- Juice from 1 lemon
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- Hummus, your choice, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, Portobello mushrooms and asparagus.
- Drizzle with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar; add the garlic and thyme.
- Season with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste; gently toss to coat.
- Cover and marinate for one hour.
- Heat the grill to medium-high heat.
- Grill the ears of corn separately on a rear rack, away from direct flame; the husks will get a bit blackened and smoky; this adds so much flavor.
- Rotate them every five minutes or so; after 10 to 20 minutes, when the corn is tender, remove; set aside to cool.
- When completely cooled, strip off the husks and carefully slice the kernels off the cob; set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the veggies in a grill basket or spread out the veggies on a large sheet of foil.
- Add a top sheet of foil and crimp the edges of the sheets together to make a packet.
- Place on the hot grill and cook until tender crisp; about 15 to 25 minutes, depending upon the size of your grill.
- Remove the veggie basket/packet to a large platter or cutting board; set aside.
- Place the cooked quinoa in a large serving bowl.
- Add the grilled corn, chopped fresh parsley and mint.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice; season to taste with sea salt and ground pepper; toss to coat.
- To serve, you can either slice the grilled veggies and add them to the quinoa as a salad, or serve the simple quinoa-corn salad with big beautiful pieces of grilled veggies on the side.
- Hummus is a great condiment with grilled veggies.
Notes
Before cooking quinoa, rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve.