A house is not a home to me if it isn’t stocked with grains, beans, nuts and a strangely wide array of dressing components.  Needless to say I am always at the ready for some sort of quinoa salad situation.   I had a green bean pile that I needed to put to use and now I’m set to chomp on this salad all week.

The green beans/haricot verts were delish in this but asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower would be great too.  I added in chickpeas and sunflower seeds but whatever you have stocked at your house (cannellini beans, chopped almonds) will give you a similar enough result.  Like every dish ever made, this salad would be even better with the addition of some sort of cheese (goat, feta, parmesan) I just didn’t have any at the house.  Some fresh parsley would be nice too!  Make an aggressive batch like I did- this keeps well in the fridge for several days.

You’ll need:

For Salad:

• 1 pound haricots verts cut in half
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 0.25 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups veggie stock
• Salt/Pep

For Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Juice of 0.5 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 0.25 cup olive oil
• Salt/Pep

To Make:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the haricots verts and cook a few minutes until tender.  Drain and transfer to an ice bath.  Drain again.  Place in a large bowl with the chickpeas.
2. Combine the quinoa and the stock in a medium sauce pan over high heat.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain if necessary.  Add cooked quinoa to the large bowl with the beans.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, honey, lemon, and garlic.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Season to taste with salt/pep.
4. Add the dressing to the quinoa/bean mixture a little at a time, tossing, until you have the dressed the salad to the desired level.   Season to taste with salt/pep.  Garnish with sunflower seeds.