This is a lovely salad to make when Fava Beans are in season. You can experiment with leaving the favas un-cooked, but cooking them definitely is preferred. This recipe will keep for a few days in the fridge, making it a good meal prep recipe for lunches, or easy sides on a weekday.
Quinoa Fava Bean Salad
1 pound fresh Fava Beans, shelled
1 cup Quinoa, dry
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 medium Persian cucumber (or ½ long English cucumber), diced
1 cup Castelvetrano olives, halved ¾ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
50-100g fresh goat cheese, crumbled 1 recipe
Creamy Maple Vinaigrette
If the Favas are super fresh and tender, you can actually enjoy them raw, just shelled. But if you’d rather cook them, place the shelled beans in a pot of water, bring to a boil, and let them simmer for about 4-5 minutes, until they’re perfectly tender. You can also steam them for 6-8 minutes as well if you prefer. Drain and set them aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Rinse the dry quinoa and combine in a pot with the water. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and cleave the lid on to "steam" the grains for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes has passed, remove the lid, and fluff the cooked grains with a fork to release the steam. Transfer the quinoa to a tray or plate and spread it out evenly to cool. Allow the quinoa to cool completely before adding to the salad.
While the quinoa cools, toast the walnuts. Preheat the oven to 400°F, spread the walnuts on a baking tray, and toast them for 8–10 minutes, just until they’re golden and fragrant. Let them cool completely. While the nuts are toasting and the quinoa is cooking on the stove, prep everything else. Finely chop the parsley, dice the cucumber, and halve the olives.
Make the vinaigrette by blending all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. You can do this in a blender or with a hand blender in a jar. This dressing makes more than you’ll need, so keep the rest in the fridge. It’s great on other salads too!
When everything’s ready, combine the cooked (and cooled!) quinoa, fava beans, cucumber, olives, parsley, and most of the toasted walnuts in a big bowl. Drizzle in some dressing (as much as you like) and toss everything gently. Finish by topping the salad with crumbled goat cheese, a little more parsley, the rest of the walnuts, and if you’d like, a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper or chili flakes.
Creamy Maple Vinaigrette
1 cup extra virgin olive oil1/3 cup + 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until emulsified. Keep refrigerated in a jar and use on everything. Shake well before using. You can also use a hand blender to make this too, just combine everything in a jar and blend. I have also used my Ninja too - it could not be easier! And there is no blender to clean up.