Egg

Strawberry and Quinoa Salad with Tarragon, Soft Goat’s Cheese and Poached Egg

by:
May 14, 2018
4
5 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

From Bernadette Worndl's Fruit: Recipes That Celebrate Nature: “Poached egg with strawberries and quinoa was a dish served to us for breakfast by an old lady at her chicken farm outside Chicago, which doubled as a kitschily decorated guesthouse. Since then, whenever I taste the combination of egg and strawberries, I always think of that lovely lady and her fairytale farm.” —Food52

Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: The Strawberry Quinoa Salad That Converted a Salad Hater —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 150 grams (5½ oz) quinoa
  • 500 grams (1 lb 2 oz) strawberries
  • 3 to 4 mint sprigs
  • 3 to 4 tarragon sprigs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 60 milliliters (2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup) white-wine vinegar
  • Pinch of finely grated orange zest
  • 1 orange, juice of
  • 4 small eggs
  • 1 handful rocket (arugula), red sorrel, or mizuna
  • 1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 100 grams (3½ oz) soft goat’s cheese
Directions
  1. Rinse the quinoa under cold water, to wash away any bitterness. Combine 300 ml (10 fl oz) water and ½ teaspoon salt in a saucepan, then cover and bring to the boil. Rain in the quinoa and simmer gently over very low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave, covered, for about 15 minutes to swell up.
  2. Meanwhile, slice the strawberries or chop into wedges. Pick the mint and tarragon leaves and roughly chop. In a bowl, combine the quinoa, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the white-wine vinegar, and the orange zest and juice.
  3. Fill a saucepan with 2 litres (68 fl oz/8 cups) water and add the remaining vinegar. Bring to the boil. Break the eggs, one at a time, into a cup, taking care not to break the yolk. Carefully slide the eggs, one at a time, into the bubbling water and spoon the white over the yolk. Reduce the heat – the water should be just under boiling. Cook the eggs for 3–4 minutes then, using a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove the poached eggs from the water and drain on paper towel.
  4. Toss the herbs, salad leaves and strawberries with the quinoa and transfer to a serving plate. Season with salt and pepper, crumble over the goat’s cheese and top with the poached eggs.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

2 Reviews

Sasha August 5, 2018
I'm baffled by this recipe - it was somewhere between boring and inedible. Is there a trick i'm missing?
 
Dana July 13, 2018
This made for a great weeknight salad, and I love any savory dish that includes fresh strawberries. I've never been the biggest fan of quinoa, but this version was tasty with the fresh orange zest/juice and herbs. I didn't have tarragon, so I used fresh basil together with the mint from my garden. In the end, I forgot to add the goat cheese, but the poached eggs were terrific!