Quinoa and edamame salad with grilled shrimp

There’s something so much fun about getting my edamame harvest every year from our CSA farm. Maybe it’s because I don’t eat unfermented soy normally, so it feels like cheating, or going off the diet or simply indulging. Or it could be simply that it’s fun to cook something I never cook, and the hulling of the soybeans after they are boiled is a bit of a job. I feel like a farmer back in the days when you couldn’t just go buy frozen edamame that are already prepared. You know, like in Little House on the Prairie.

I keep this recipe really simple because I wanted to highlight all of the farm fresh veggies — and edamame! — in it, so the dressing is very light. The rice vinegar makes it a little bit sweet so it balances out the spicy radishes nicely. The crunchy raw “chunks” balace the slightly mushy cooked quinoa, so it’s got a lot of textural interest, besides just looking oh so pretty.

We just grilled up some shrimp with BBQ sauce to serve with it, but it would make a vegetarian main dish on its own, or you could pair your favorite grilled protein with it to make it your own. I’ll also include a little trick to give it a kick of flavor if you don’t like the “keep it simple” approach.

Quinoa and Edamame Salad

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Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 chopped chives
2 cups edamame, shelled
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup sliced radishes

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon BBQ sauce (optional for a flavor kick)

Combine dressing ingredients with a whisk, pour over all other ingredients and toss to coat. Serve with BBQ grilled shrimp or your favorite grilled protein.