Salad in a jar: Spring pea and strawberry salad with quinoa
This clever layering method for packing a salad in a jar keeps ingredients fresh and crisp throughout the day.
Packing a salad for lunch is a great way to get fruits and veggies in your diet. But it can be challenging to preserve the fresh flavors and delicate textures when packing them to go. Luckily, stacking the ingredients in a jar is a simple solution to prevent soggy salads.
Stack the salad from bottom to top:
Layer 1: Dressing
Layer 2: Heavier cooked vegetables (such as roasted beets) or hard fresh vegetables (such as peas and carrots)
Layer 3: Grains
Layer 4: Fruits or delicate vegetables
Layer 5: Nuts and seeds
Layer 6: Leafy greens, sprouts, and herbs
Feel free to experiment with ingredients you find at the farmers market or already have in your pantry.
Note: The ingredients and directions below will yield more than one jar’s worth of salad.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vinaigrette (see below)
- 1/2 cup fresh or blanched spring peas, shelled
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1/4 cup maple glazed walnuts (see below)
- 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup salad greens
Vinaigrette (yields about 1/4 cup dressing)
- 1 teaspoon spring onion, minced kosher salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
Maple glazed walnuts (yields 1/2 cup of maple glazed walnuts)
- 1/2 cup of walnuts
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- Pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Fill jar with salad ingredients in the order listed. When you’re ready for lunch, shake all contents in the jar and serve on a plate or in a bowl.
Vinaigrette
- Add minced onions to small mixing bowl with a pinch of salt.
- Macerate onions in sherry for about 2 minutes.
- Then add Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and olive oil. S
- Stir to emulsify.
Maple glazed walnuts
- Toss walnuts in a small mixing bowl with maple syrup.
- Bring pan to medium-low heat.
- Add maple covered walnuts and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until maple syrup sticks to walnuts.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 489
- Total fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 42 g
- Dietary fiber: 9 g
- Total sugars: 11 g
- Protein: 13 g