I’ve been on a quinoa kick lately. Today it’s quinoa with mushrooms and scallions. The woodsy flavor of the mushrooms and the mildly pungent kick of the scallions are a great taste combination. Saute the mushrooms until they are a lovely golden brown, add the scallions and a bit of garlic and your kitchen will smell delicious. When the mushrooms are ready, toss with the quinoa, add some walnuts and a bit of salty feta and you’ve got a great salad.
A couple of notes:
I wash my mushrooms. A lot of recipes say to wipe them or brush them but I just don’t think that gets them clean. I’m not talking about soaking them in water – just give them a quick rinse in a sieve and tumble them into a tea towel to dry off. I’ve never had a problem with mushrooms being soggy after washing them.
Cooking mushrooms – You need to start with a hot pan, add a little oil and then add the mushrooms in a layer on the bottom of the pan. Leave the mushrooms over medium high heat and DO NOT touch the mushrooms for 3 minutes. The hardest thing is not touching those mushrooms. They will be making a squeaking noise – this is good – it’s the mushrooms releasing their water and the water being evaporated by the high heat. You’ll be tempted to stir them – but wait. You want them to take on a golden brown color so you need to wait before stirring them. After the 3 minutes stir away. The pan needs to be hot enough to evaporate any water that the mushrooms produce – so keep it on medium high heat. If you cook the mushrooms over low heat they will just stay a beige brown color.
I cooked my mushrooms in two batches so as to not crowd the pan. If you have a really large sauté pan you should be okay but you want the mushrooms to be in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.
Quinoa needs to be rinsed before you cook it. Rinse in a fine mesh sieve to remove the bitter coating.
To prevent quinoa from being mushy – turn out the quinoa onto a baking sheet to cool once it’s finished cooking. This will leave the quinoa delicate and fluffy.
This salad does not need a lot of dressing – it’s very flavorful – so just a small amount of lemon dressing is needed.
PrintQuinoa with Mushrooms and Scallions
An earthy, flavorful and filling quinoa salad.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 buillion cube
- 3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms – about 15 medium sized mushrooms.
- 6 to 8 scallions – chopped
- 3 garlic cloves – minced
- 4 twists from a pepper mill.
- 1/3 cup (1 large handful of walnuts)
- 1/3 cup diced or crumbled feta
- 2 tbs minced parsley
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 lemon – squeezed
Instructions
- Rinse and cook quinoa as per package instructions. It’s usually a ratio of 1 cup of dried quinoa to 2 cups of water. Add a buillion cube to the water.
- When quinoa is done – turn out on to a baking sheet to cool.
- Heat a sauté pan over high heat – add 1 tbs of olive oil and then the sliced mushrooms. Let brown.
- Once the mushrooms are brown, add scallions, garlic and pepper. Sauté, stirring for a minute or two until the scallions have wilted.
- Add sautéed mushroom mixture to a bowl to cool slightly.
- Add quinoa, walnuts, feta and minced parsley to mushroom mixture and toss.
- Whisk together 2 tbs olive oil and juice from half a lemon. Pour over quinoa and toss to combine.
Janelle
Delicious and so easy to make! Used a little more of each ingredient to make more servings. Minced up the walnuts to incorporate better and used zested Parmesan instead of feta. Will definitely make this again! Thanks for the awesome recipe 🙂
★★★★
Geraldine
Thanks, Janelle – so glad you enjoyed it!
Samantha
I just made and enjoyed this dish and it was absolutely wonderful!! Hearty and filling with great flavor. I almost forgot the lemon dressing and tasted the mixture both before and after adding it…both delicious. I made this as a main course and wanted it to stretch a little further so I added two zucchini which made for some good color and added crunch. This is definitely going on my make again–and often–list!
Geraldine
Hi Samantha – so glad you enjoyed it! Zucchini is a great idea – I’m going to try that next time I make it. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Wendy Hampton
Ohhhh how delicious this is! Such flavor and wonderful texture! I love the feta and the crunchy walnuts. Seems so simple but such a complex flavor. Ooooo just had a thought. I might like to add some artichoke hearts as well. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m subscribing also.
Geraldine
Thanks so much, Wendy! Hope you enjoy it!
Lisa L.
Omg! I just made this recipe and it is so delicious!!!! I added one more clove of garlic because I can’t help it. I will definitely make this again=)
Geraldine
Hi Lisa – this is my favorite kind of comment – thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! A little bit more garlic is always a good thing :). Have a good one.
Margaret
This dish looks wonderful! I am considering making it 1 day ahead for a picnic. Is this an appropriate dish for this type of event/to be served cold?
Geraldine
Hi Margaret – I think you should be fine making it a day ahead – but if you have time – do all the steps except sautéing the mushrooms and scallions. Then, the next morning, sauté the mushrooms and scallions before you leave and add them into the prepped salad. There’s also a quinoa with roasted broccoli and arugula salad on my site that is easy to do ahead and is great cold the next day. Let me know how it works out for you!
Sandy
Geraldine,
Another hit! Loved the combination of quinoa, mushrooms and scallions. Plan on making this many times.
Sandy
Geraldine
Thanks, Sandy!!!
Linda
This was one of the best quinoa salads I’ve ever had the pleasure of making and eating. My hubby and our best friend who we frequently have over for dinner were so impressed they asked me to keep this in my file of go to recipes so I can make this for them again and again!
Thanks for sharing this with us!
Linda
And I wash my mushrooms too….. they’re never soggy or mushy afterwards.
★★★★★
Geraldine
Your comment made me so happy. Thanks so much for letting me know how much you enjoyed it! Have a great night.
Kaitlin @ The Garden Grazer
This is my perfect recipe! Absolutely LOVE quinoa, mushrooms, and scallions equally, and simple dressings are the best. I’m the same way with washing my mushrooms. I found wiping them clean so tedious… like I could never get all the dirt off and it would take forever. So excited to make this. Gorgeous photo! 🙂
Geraldine
Thanks, Kaitlin! One of the best things about this salad is the smell – sautéed mushrooms, scallions and garlic give off a wonderful aroma. Enjoy 🙂