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Frankenstein salad, quinoa, chard and plum

quinoa, plums, cucumbers, and red onions

This unusual combination took root in my head last week and it just couldn’t be denied. I had a small bunch of chard from our CSA, some of those cute, miniature seedless cucumbers, a perfect Santa Rosa plum, and some red onion. I felt pretty confident that it would all work well together despite the Frankenstein nature of the combination. I blanched the chard for one minute and then dunked it quickly into a bowl of ice water. Once it had cooled down I patted it dry and chopped it into ribbons. All the other ingredients were just a quick chop. I cooked a cup of quinoa according to the package directions but next time I should only cook 1/2 cup of quinoa. Once that cooled down I added the chopped veggies and dressed it with a dressing that combined rice wine vinegar, ponzu, yuzu honey, apple cider vinegar and canola oil. I think I also added a few dashes of chili oil.

The salad was surprisingly tasty. Actually the first bite struck me as a strange flavor but then I couldn’t stop eating it…something about the flavor combination was strangely addicting, the dirt-ish flavor of the chard, the cool slippery cucumber, the crisp bite of the onion, and the sweetness of the plum all wrapped up with a sweet-tart dressing. Dave had the exact same reaction…he thought it was weird but then he couldn’t stop eating it. I’ll definitely make this again.

June 30, 2008 | Filed Under food, low carb, low cal, lowfat, quick and easy, recipe, rice and other grains, soup, salad, sandwich 

comments

5 Responses to “Frankenstein salad, quinoa, chard and plum”

  1. MadLisa on June 30th, 2008

    Vanessa, this post cracked me up! I still haven’t grown to enjoy quinoa, although I love most grains, like millet, etc. But I have had these weird but tasty experiences before. For some strange reason, your description of the seemingly odd combination reminded me of Vietnamese food..?!? Those salty/sweet/spicy/minty flavors that are just addictive. Or maybe I’ve just been hankering for Vietnamese food lately and now my brain will turn just about anything into a Vietnamese experience!!

  2. Jude on July 1st, 2008

    Sounds great… It’s fun when you cook without any recipes and end up with something new and delicious.

  3. cristie on July 2nd, 2008

    I’m always looking for new, out-of-the-ordinary salads, and your creation looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

  4. lo (Burp! Where Food Happens) on July 2nd, 2008

    Now, that’s an innovative salad. I love it when a plan (even a seemingly weird one) comes together and ends up as something delicious. Thanks for sharing the inspiration.

    MadLisa – A Vietnamese restaurant just opened in our neighborhood, and I’m dying to try it!!

  5. Lynn on July 10th, 2008

    The salad sounds fabulous. Can’t wait to make it. I just stumbled across your site a few days ago. Delightful.

    As an aside, you do realize that Frankenstein was the name of the man that created the monster. He was not a doctor, just plain old Mr. Frankenstein.

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