Quinoa, Kale, and Asparagus Salad

In the Eating by Heart series, chef Colombe Jacobsen will be your guide to making healthy food choices. She will demonstrate how to make heart healthy recipes that don’t involve extra sodium, sugar and fat.

In episode 4 of Eating by Heart, Colombe Jacobsen demonstrates how to make a tasty superfood salad that is great for your health. This recipe is very easy to make, as you only need quinoa, asparagus, kale, and roasted garlic.

First Colombe shows you a tip for how to make roasted garlic. Cut off the top of a head of garlic, then place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle it with olive oil and wrap it up. Place in the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes for beautifully roasted garlic.

During this time you can also prepare your quinoa. Colombe advises buying pre-washed quinoa at the grocery store, since it will remove some of the bitterness from the quinoa and it saves you the time of washing it yourself. Combine quinoa with water and salt, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. When the water is absorbed, fluff the quinoa with a fork and keep it covered for 5 minutes. 

While the garlic is roasting, you can prepare the green vegetables for your superfood salad. Asparagus is a super healthy vegetable that is loaded with fiber, folate and many different vitamins. To prepare asparagus, cut off the ends and slice the asparagus stalks into small rounds. Blanch the asparagus for a couple minutes in a pot with lightly salted boiling water. The sea salt will bring out the chlorophyll in the asparagus so it will be nice and green. Blanch the kale in the same water, then squeeze out the water to remove moisture. Rough chop the kale leaves. Kale is a superfood that is very high in calcium, and it is also a very versatile vegetable. You can eat kale raw in salads, though it will be a bit tougher in texture. Combine the blanched asparagus, kale and quinoa in a bowl.

To make the dressing, scoop out the roasted garlic cloves and mash them with a fork. Add lemon zest, olive oil, sea salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Dress the greens, and you’ve got a beautiful and delicious dish that’s packed with superfoods!