Fody's Vegan Quinoa Salad with Cilantro Pesto

We love fresh green salads and we also love the way simple grains add protein and fiber to our meals. Our newest way to eat them is together, in generous proportions of greens. Quinoa takes particularly well to this approach and we encourage you to try combining it with other greens and salad dressings of your choice (try it with our Low FODMAP Caesar Salad Dressing).

In this dish, our Low FODMAP Vegan Quinoa & Low FODMAP Salad with Cilantro Pesto, fresh arugula and baby kale is combined with cooked quinoa and a vibrant low FODMAP vegan pesto made with cilantro, Fody Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Olive Oil and nutritional yeast, which adds a creamy texture that many find almost cheese-like.

This recipe makes a lot, but unlike many dressed salads, we even like this one the next day for lunch after having it as a side dish at dinner. (You can see it alongside our Salmon with Asian BBQ Sauce). The Persian cucumbers, by the way, are slender, practically seedless cucumbers that are about 6-inches (15 cm) long. They are particularly sweet and don’t need to be peeled; you can substitute other cucumbers if needed. Did you know that cucumbers have no detectable FODMAPs? You can eat them freely, so take advantage!

For the Pesto: Place the Fody Garlic-Infused Olive Oil, water and lemon juice in the bottom of a blender, then add the cilantro, pine nuts, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and the nutritional yeast and blend until smooth, scraping down the carafe as needed. Taste and add more salt, if you like; set side.

For the Low FODMAP Salad: Toss the room temperature quinoa, arugula, baby kale, tomatoes and cucumbers in a large bowl. Drizzle pesto on top and toss gently (we like to use tongs) until evenly coated. Salad is ready to serve or may be refrigerated overnight in a covered container. Let sit out of fridge for a little bit before serving. The flavors will be muted if it is very cold. We like this Low FODMAP salad alongside simple proteins (fish, poultry or meats) for a very complete Low FODMAP meal.