Serves 8
Ingredients
Salad:
½ cup quinoa
1 pound zucchini, patty pan, and/or yellow summer squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
½ cup Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
Dressing:
2 tablespoons finely grated Cotija cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Procedure
Thoroughly rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and liberally salt the water. Add the rinsed quinoa, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes. Drain; return quinoa to the hot saucepan, off the heat. Cover and let sit 15 more minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and let cool.
Slice the summer squash into ¼--inch slices. If they are large, cut them in half or quarters so they are bite-sized. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the red onion and zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook until just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cool.
Dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the Cotija cheese, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.
In a large bowl, toss together the quinoa, squash/onion mixture, Italian parsley and basil. Drizzle dressing over and toss to coat.
