Avocado, asparagus and quinoa salad

To prepare asparagus for cooking, first snap off any tough white ends. Remove any tough scales with a vegetable peeler. This salad makes an appetising main or accompaniment to a grill.

Quinoa

1 cup	Quinoa (Main)
2 cups	Water

Dressing

½ cup	Greek yoghurt
½ tsp	Smoked paprika
2 cloves	Garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp	Lemon juice

Salad

250 g	Asparagus spears, plump, trimmed (Main)
2 Tbsp	Olive oil, divided
1	Red onion, diced
¾ cup	Mint, loosely packed
¾ cup	Parsley, loosely packed
¾ cup	Basil, loosely packed
¾ cup	Coriander leaves, loosely packed
2 small	Lebanese cucumber, trimmed, thickly sliced; use up to 3
2 medium	Avocados, halved, stoned, peeled and sliced (Main)
2	Limes, juiced
1 Tbsp	Maple syrup

Directions

1. Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Place in a saucepan with the 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes or until cooked. Cover and stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Cool.
2. Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Cover and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
4. Toss the asparagus in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast for about 5 minutes, until crisp tender. Cool. Crisp the onion in icy water for 2 minutes then drain.
5. Combine the quinoa with half the herbs and place on a serving platter. Top with the asparagus, cucumber, drained onion and avocado. Combine the remaining olive oil, lime juice and maple syrup and drizzle over the avocados. Garnish with the remaining herbs.
6. Serve with the dressing on the side.

More Springtime meals from Jan

• Printemps penne
• Chilli fried eggs with avocado salsa