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26 Comments This easy and delicious quinoa salad with sausages is perfect for an autumn salad and can be on the table in less than 20 minutes.
Quinoa salad with sausages
I have this thing for a good quinoa salad. I’m not sure what it is exactly but probably because it is such a versatile ingredient. It’s quick to prepare and pairs well with so many different vegetables. I love eating it with beetroot such as in this quinoa salad with feta and beetroot but this is an entirely different version.
The recipe is originally from Donna Hay, as I love most of her recipes. They’re delicious, colorful and easy to prepare. This quinoa salad uses sausages and while I generally find I tend to eat my quinoa salad in the vegetarian variety this really is delicious.
With beef sausages
While you can definitely use any kind of sausage you like, I went with Italian style beef sausages. I like the seasoning on them and they’re pretty good in this salad. The salad itself has somewhat mediterranean vibes so those Italian sausages work totally fine for me. If you want to make this a vegetarian quinoa salad you can totally do that.
Simply leave out the sausages or replace with a vegetarian version of that. In addition to the sausages the salad is filled with lots of delicious things; crunchy cashew nuts, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, apple, radish, dried apricots and white beans. So quite a filling salad as well.
Dressing
The dressing is based on olive oil, but if you’re more of a mayonnaise lover, you can substitute the olive oil for the mayo and make the dressing a bit creamier. You can also add additional things to the dressing such as a bit of grated ginger or garlic powder or fresh garlic.
Due to the dijon mustard the dressing is fairly spicy. If you don’t like spicy you can replace it for a milder mustard without any problems. The honey does take the edge of a bit but still spicy enough.
The quinoa salad with sausages also keeps really well in the fridge so perfect for lunch the next day. You can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Quinoa salad with sausages
Ingredients
- 125 gr red quinoa
- 100 g cherry tomatoes mixed
- 40 g cashew nuts unsalted, chopped
- 2 stock cubes
- 1 apple chopped
- 200 gr beef sausages
- 4 pcs dried apricots cut smaller
- 3-4 sundried tomatoes in oil, in pieces
- 150 g canellini beans rinsed and drained
- pepper
- salt
- few radishes in slices
- fresh thyme a few twigs, leaves only
dressing
- 75 ml olive oil
- 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
- juice of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 lemon
- bit of honey
Titel
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions with two stock cubes (making sure you have at least 1 ltr of water) and leave to cool.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in quarters or halves (depending on size) and cut and prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Put everything together in a large bowl and shake it up
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the ingedients together and stir this well until it becomes one.
- Because of the dijon mustard it is a spicy dressing so if you don’t like that use a milder mustard
- Add some of the dressing to the salad and serve
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Really interesting walk through of your processes Simone, and I too love the 1st & 3rd images especially.
I so wish I could shadow you at work for a few days, I would love to soak up some of the snippets of wisdom you’ve gleaned over the years 🙂
Janie x
Well you’re more than welcome to come over Janie! 😉
How fun to explore the different props and backgrounds. All your photos are beautiful. I do love the photo with the pan hanging, there is a homey feel to the photo! Your recipe sounds delicious! Hugs, Terra
Thanks Terra! Yes the recipe is definitely delicious!
You read my thoughts 😉
I was having that feeling lately : that same old same old feeling… 🙁
…need to challenge myself too.
I love looking at your photos, always bright and cheery n neat 🙂
I love your style, which is totally expressed in the first photo (beautiful!). It works really well and it’s in your “comfort zone”, your tried and tested method of taking lovely photos. The second one is gorgeous too, but perhaps you find it lacking because it’s outside that zone! I imagine every style needs time and practice, so switching to something new might feel wrong in the beginning. I’m saying all this hypothetically, as I am still somewhere in my food photographer infancy 🙂 Great post!
Thanks Eleni. Yes I guess trying something new might feel a bit weird as it is indeed not in my comfort zone but I love trying out new stuff so there will be more of that!
I love both pictures because they tell different stories and you know that I know what you mean when it comes to getting stuck in a rut 😉 But I have to admit I prefer your style, in my eyes it is unique and speaks for itself. But anyway, we should practice and I would love to join you the next time.
You should Sandy! I’ll be thinking about what to make for next time.. 😉
I totally love your style Simone. It’s clean and fresh – but I can understand the feeling of getting stuck in a rut. I think I should assign the challenge too. When I return from the Venice workshop I think I will give it a go. Should be gun. I really like the new remake of the image too. Cool stuff!
You actually have a pretty distinctive style, IMO. One that’s pretty good. It’s fun to play with other ideas, of course, and I don’t do that nearly often enough. And your “kitchen” photo looks great! But I really prefer your “normal” style.
Thanks so much John. I guess it’s hard to say from yourself that you have a certain style really. Other people apparently see that better than I do! Glad to hear your prefer my regular style though!
Ditto on Maureen’s comment to you!
The first photo, I could NEVER do. It held me – and I came back to it a few times.
XOXO
Valerie
Thanks Valerie! You’re so sweet…! 🙂
I have never had the opportunity to take a class, so I would love to. Both of the photos are wonderful really, they each tell a bit of a different story, but your salad so bright in both. I love your style 🙂
Thanks so much Wendy, much appreciated!
I took a class with Peter G two years ago in Adelaide. What a wonderful man he is. So down to earth, friendly and helpful.
I think your photos are brilliant. They aren’t Donna Hay, they aren’t the delightful Meeta nor are they moody like Peter’s. They are you – you do have your own style and I love it.
How i would love to do a workshop with Peter!! Love his style and I’ve been following him for so long I kind of feel I ‘know’ him a bit… And thanks so much for the lovely comment Maureen! 😉
Thanks Maureen and thank you Simone! I love what you do Simone but I get that you want to ocasionally change things up. I like both versions to be honest.
Thanks so much Peter! And good to know you like both versions!
What the hell are you talking about, Simone? That first picture is absolutely brilliant! I stared at it for at least 5 long minutes, in total awe and admiration before I even started to read your post. And then I spotted the 3rd pic. Beauty! Got stuck for another 5 minutes…
I think you have amazing styling skills, my friend. I wish I had only half of them…
Ooo thanks so much Sonia! I guess I still feel that styling is my weak point even though I can see I have improved over the years but I do lack a bit of confidence in that area definitely. I even sometimes wonder if I have my own style ( people tell me I do so I guess I do…)
Beautiful salad, pictures and styling! I wish I had better stylling skills (I try my best). It is an art in itself and it demands a lot of work…
Cheers,
Rosa
I do love your styling Rosa. You have your own unique style!
What a fabulous idea to challenge oneself! But I guess you already knew that I would love this idea 🙂 And what I really love about your results is that you even used the same dishes and cutlery but still the images look so different and I just love them both!
Hugs, Eva
Thanks so much Eva! Yes I think it’s always fun to challenge one self as much as possible.