Spring black quinoa salad

I served this salad with a choice of toppings as I couldn’t decide which one I liked best; they both work well. You could mix either avocado or feta into the salad along with the dill ahead of time or give people a choice. Fava beans require a couple of steps to prepare but it goes quickly and is so worth it!

2 cups shelled fava beans (about 2 pounds with pods)

Sea salt

2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed

6 radishes, finely sliced

2 scallions finely sliced

4 teaspoons unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Large pinch flaky sea salt, I used Malden

Black pepper

¾ cup cooked black quinoa, recipe below

Crumbled feta, sliced avocado and chopped fresh dill to serve

Bring about 4 cups of filtered water to a boil in a small pot, add fava beans and a pinch of salt and boil for 5 minutes. Lift favas out of the water using a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

Peel outer layer of skin from fava beans by pinching one end and popping the bean out. Compost skins and place the beans in a medium sized bowl. Add the sugar snap peas, radishes and scallions and toss to combine. Stir in vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and cooked black quinoa.

Add the sugar snap peas to the pot and boil for 1 minute, drain and rinse under cold running water, set aside to cool.

Season to taste and serve with toppings.

Black quinoa

As with all my grains, I soak the black quinoa first. The exact amount of time isn’t really important as long as you see the tiny sprout beginning to grow. If you want a moister grain, increase water by ¼ cup.

1 cup black quinoa, soaked 6 to 8 hours in plenty of filtered water

1 cup filtered water

Pinch sea salt

Drain and rinse quinoa. Place in a pot and add 1 cup filtered water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before removing lid to cool completely.