Quinoa • Cherry tomatoes • Bell peppers • Carrots • Pickled cucumbers • Buttermilk, cucumber dill dressing
By Pillsbury United Waite House youth and chef coach Jose Llangari from Pillsbury United.
La Fresca By Pillsbury United Waite House youth
Say "hola" to La Fresca!
Maireni, Eva, Anessa, Keylin and Mochny worked with Chef Jose Llangari of Pillsbury United to create a dish that represents their Latinx heritage and culture while embracing the beautiful foods they grow at their Waite House garden. Say “hola” to La Fresca, “the freshness” salad. The quinoa represents Ecuador and the queso fresco is a nod to Mexico The youth grow tomatoes, cucumbers and sunflowers seeds for the salad. They pickled their cukes (cool!), adding an extra bite of deliciousness. Topped with a buttermilk, cucumber dill dressing = a fresh, bright, light and summery meal!
La Fresca
with Buttermilk, Cucumber Dill Dressing
Makes 8 (1-cup) servings
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
Pickled Vegetables
- ½ cup rice wine vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups thinly sliced cucumber
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
Salad Mix
- 1 ½ cups matchstick or shredded carrots
- 1 ½ cups small cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- 8 cups mixed baby salad greens
Dressing Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- ¼ cup chopped cucumber
- 3 Tbsp. buttermilk powder
- 2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
- ½ tsp. grated lemon peel
- ½ tsp. finely chopped garlic
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Topper
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
- ¼ cup roasted & salted sunflower seeds
Directions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions. Remove from heat; let cool.
- To make pickled vegetables, mix water, vinegar, sugar, in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; stir to dissolve sugar. Pour over cucumbers and red onion in a medium bowl. Let stand 1 hour. Drain well.
- Mix the remaining salad ingredients, except the greens, in a large bowl. Stir in cooked quinoa and pickled veggies.
- To make the dressing, process the yogurt, cucumber, buttermilk powder, dill, honey, lemon peel, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth.
- Serve the quinoa-veggie mixture over the salad greens. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle on the cheese and sunflower seeds.
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