Photo courtesy of The Ingalls

I have pretty kumquat trees on my terrace. I’ll pluck and pop one of the little orange citrus into my mouth whenever I walk by for a quick, puckering pick-me-up.

Kumquats are a great addition to salad—the peel is sweet, and the pulp adds the perfect amount of tart. When I’ve eaten all the kumquats off my tree, I use tangerine sections, which are good in this salad too.

6 Servings

Instructions:

1. Bring the water and salt to a simmer in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa, cover, and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl, fluff with a fork, and cool completely. Add the cheese, herbs, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and the lemon juice to the quinoa and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook the snap peas in a medium pot of rapidly boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Drain well. (The quinoa and snap peas can be prepared up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate separately.)
3. Whisk together the remaining 4 tablespoon oil, the vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon salt to blend in a small bowl for the dressing. Mix the snap peas, arugula, carrots, fennel, kumquats, radishes, and pistachios into the quinoa mixture. Toss with the dressing and serve.

Tip: I use an inexpensive V-slicer to shave paper-thin slices of the fennel, carrot, and watermelon radish.