Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad

We made this salad weeks ago, but I love it so much that I wanted to circle back to post it. Even though it's still winter(ish) outside, the bright colors in this salad were inviting, and all of the fresh ingredients called to mind spring and the coming growing season in Ohio. I would have appreciated more of the peanut dressing, but with this recipe divided into four servings the entire thing was pretty low calorie so the amount of dressing was fine in that regard. I love all things peanuts and peanut butter though, so that probably contributed to me wanting there to be even more peanut dressing in the recipe. The raw veggies made this extra crunchy and perfect for lunch the next day. 

Recipe from Cookie + Kate.

Ingredients:
Salad
-1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (we used a frozen, microwaveable bag)
-2 cups shredded purple cabbage
-1 cup grated carrot
-1 cup thinly sliced sugar snap peas
-1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
-1/4 cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish

Peanut Dressing
-1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
-3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
-1 tablespoon maple syrup
-1 tablespoon rice vinegar
-1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
-1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
-1/2 lime, juiced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
-Pinch of red pepper flakes

First make the peanut dressing by whisking together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth. Add the maple syrup, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, grated ginger, lime juice, and red pepper flakes and whisk continually until the dressing is smooth. If the dressing seems too thick, whisk in small amounts of water until the consistency you want is achieved.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas,  and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut dressing and toss again until everything is lightly coated in the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Divide into four servings and top the completed salads with roasted peanuts.

Store the chopped peanuts separately from the salad to prevent any leftovers from getting soggy.