Hello! I have a new lunch idea for you guys today. My meat loving fiance created this recipe to surprise me with lunch already made a few weeks ago during a busy weekend. Some of the regular CSA ingredients we were getting at the time included chard, cabbages, yellow onions, and oranges, so this recipe used up a bunch of stuff in one try.

Chard and Cabbage Quinoa with Orange Sesame Dressing

Serves around 6

Ingredients

For the quinoa salad:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced
• 1 bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp raw honey
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of one orange
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine the quinoa and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until water is evaporated and quinoa is cooked through.
2. In a large pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion, and cook for a few minutes or until onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for an additional minute. Add the sliced mushrooms, and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the sliced red cabbage to the onion, garlic, and mushroom mixture. Cook for around 3 minutes, and then add in the chard. Cook until the chard begins to wilt.
4. Once the chard is done, remove from heat and combine with the quinoa in a large mixing bowl.
5. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Once blended, pour over the quinoa, cabbage, and chard salad, and enjoy!

Is there anything prettier than purple cabbage? I seriously just love it so much. It’s so much more exciting than its green sibling. The rainbow chard is also so pretty, but I didn’t snap any pictures of the colorful stems before it was all chopped up.

This vegetarian dish still has a ton of protein from the quinoa, so it kept us full for a few hours after lunch. There are also a ton of veggies going on, so it has a ton of nutrients, and the colors make for a great presentation. We love how the orange gave this dish a good hint of citrus to balance out the sesame oil.

Don’t forget to post a pic on social media if you try it!

Readers, let’s chat! What do you think is one of the prettiest foods? 

Up there with purple cabbage and rainbow chard for me are pomegranates, blood oranges, and dragon fruit! And graffiti eggplants. So cool!