Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Black Olives

Dressing:
¼ c red wine vinegar
1 T honey
1 T mustard
1/2 c olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Quinoa Salad:
4 c salted water or vegetable stock
2 t chopped fresh thyme
2 c quinoa
16 spears of asparagus, trimmed
Olive oil for brushing
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1c pitted Nicoise olives
4 oz. aged goat cheese, shaved
1/4 c chopped basil
1/4 c fresh parsley leaves

For the vinaigrette:

Combine the vinegar, honey and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste and pulse a few times to incorporate.

For the quinoa salad:

Bring the salted water or vegetable stock to a boil and add the thyme. Stir in the quinoa, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Preheat the grill. Brush the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on all sides until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the grill and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, fold in the asparagus, olives, goat cheese, basil and parsley. Add just enough vinaigrette to moisten the salad; don’t make it too wet.

Transfer to a platter and drizzle with more of the vinaigrette.

From:  Bobby Flay: the foodnework.com