Vegan Crab Quinoa Salad
Mushrooms are a wonderful way to add texture to a vegan dish. Recently, I have been experimenting with the many different varieties of mushrooms. Sure, we all know about Shitake, Button, and Cremini mushrooms, maybe you have even used Oyster mushrooms once upon a time, but there are still many more varieties to discover.
Vegan Crab Quinoa Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups Quinoa (Red, White, Mixed...Your Choice)
- 3 1/2 Cups Water
- 1 lb. Lion's Mane Mushrooms (Cut into small pieces)
- 1 Avocado (Diced)
- 1 Mango (Diced)
- 1 Lemon (Juiced)
- 6 Tbs. Olive Oil
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 Tbs. Honey (I know, maybe some vegans won't like this choice!)
- 1/2 - 1 Tbs. Salt
- Pepper to Taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°
Bring water to a boil and add rinsed quinoa with 1 tsp salt. Don't forget to rinse your quinoa in cold water prior to cooking. (It is really important that you rinse your quinoa again and again, prior to adding to the pot.) Add the quinoa and turn the burner to simmer, cook for about 15 minutes. Once quinoa is finished cooking, let it cool completely. If there is any water left in the pan, drain well, though your quinoa should have absorbed the water.
While the quinoa is cooking, make your vinaigrette. Add the juice of one lemon, olive oil, minced garlic clove, and honey. Mix well.
I recommend roasting your mushrooms in the oven with a bit of olive oil and salt for about 15 minutes. Turn the mushrooms halfway through your cooking time. Take out of the oven, transfer to a cutting board, and cool completely. I like to cut the mushrooms into pretty small pieces, but this is your choice, leave the mushrooms chunky if you like.
Okay, now it is time to combine all of these lovely ingredients. Take your bowl of cooled quinoa and add the vinaigrette, mix well. Add the mushrooms, avocado, and mango, and gently stir again. Add salt to taste.
I am lucky enough to live in a town that has a Farmer's Market each week and we have a wonderful and knowledgeable mushroom vendor. He introduced me to Lion's Mane mushrooms, yummy! Lion's Mane mushrooms taste amazing, have a great texture, and there are even some recipes using them for vegan crab cakes. I am definitely going to try crab cakes in a later post. Lion's Mane mushrooms look and feel like a soft sponge, but they are surprisingly hearty when cooked. I usually use a pound for this recipe, you really want the flavor to permeate the dish.
What's in my kitchen?
MY NAME IS...
Colleen Mallory
Thank you for visiting my blog! My name is Colleen Mallory. I dream about cooking, Sometimes, I actually think about how ingredients will mix together and then first chance I get, I try my crazy combinations.
