Herbed Quinoa Salad

I'm a big fan of quinoa, I've only started eating it lately, but it's my new favorite "side-dish" even if I eat it as a main dish. I do have to admit that I am not a fan of goat's cheese, so I used a really good sheep's milk feta. The sharpness of the cheese went beautifully with the nutty flavor of the quinoa. Before squeezing the juice out of the lemon I zested it and also tossed the zest in with the parsley. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of pine nuts, but that's a joke in this family, I topped it all with about 1/2 cup of pine nuts, which we all fought over, of course. Rita, thanks for helping me to add another quinoa recipe to my repetoire!

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I enjoyed this fresh, healthy salad. I chose peas, as I had frozen ones. I did toast the quinoa in a iron skillet, then added water. Thanks Rita!

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I served this as a warm salad with bacon instead of cheese and it was great - it also could be served hot or cold and would be yummy . I toasted my quinoa first and it certainly reduces the earthy flavour, All the herbs were freshly snipped from my garden. Made for ZWT 7.

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Had the quinoa all ready to go from cooking extra the day before, so this was really quick to put together. Love the freshnesh and the flavour combinations. I had to use another type of nut (pistachios), but otherwise made as directed. I did end up adding extra oil as I found it a bit dry, but that's more personal preference I'd say. I wasn't clear what type of goat cheese was intended here. I ended up using some very soft chevre, which was nice, but next time I'd probably use goat feta.

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Excellent! Cooking quinoa is similar to cooking rice. I put it in the fridge after cooking since I did that part ahead of time. I used frozen tiny tender peas and just ran them under water in a colander to thaw them. I think the goat cheese I had on hand was called 'humbolt'. The ingredients called for shallots, but the instructions said chives. I opted for chives. I used fresh lemon juice and about 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts because I love those little guys. And I almost forgot! I discovered mint in my garden so used it fresh picked! (Fun!) This is awesome Rita! I hope more people discover the wonders of quinoa!!! Thank you for a really delicious recipe : )

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This was a very nice quinoa salad. I used fresh mint, tarragon, and parsley as well as the peas. Used shallots as that was what was called for in the ingredient list and what I had on hand. The salad was really colorful. The dressing is light and healthy. I used a little extra pine nuts because I love them. Thanks for a nice lunch. I'm looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.

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Very good recipe, we added extra olive oil and lemon, turned out great! Yum!

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Oh wow, I think I have found my new favourite dinner! It was my first time trying a quinoa salad with that many herbs (first time using fresh tarragon, too) and it was so yummy! I fell in love with it, instantly! I used basil instead of mint and the green beans option, which made for such a nice flavour! I will defintely make this over and over again playing with the different herbs and peas vs. beans. THANKS SO MUCH for sharing this amazing recipe with us, ~Rita~! Made and reviewed for Veggie Swap #18, January 2010.

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I could understand why this might not appeal to some people, but I'm not one of them:) Lots of herbs:) I couldn't find fresh tarragon, otherwise this had all fresh herbs. We used green beans, maybe 2 tablespoons pine nuts and 1/4 cup of regular herbed goats cheese. Very creamy, quite filling! Thanks as usual Rita!

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Very nice flavorful side dish. I used canned peas, which of course were a bit mushy so I wouldn't recommend them. Also added a bit more than 1/2 cup of goat cheese which was too much. Full of flavor and perfect for summertime! Thanks for sharing. Made for ZWT.

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Very nice and refreshing. I use quinoa from time to time and bought a bag of it to use on the Tour. This was a great recipe to use it in.

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I really like quinoa, but I was dissapointed in this dish. To me, it just tasted to "herb-y" -- it felt as if the herbs were in conflict rather than in concert with each other. Next time I'll cut out the shallots all together, and cut back on the rest of the herbs.

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