Orange-Pistachio Quinoa Salad

September 2033. Kai and Sarah married on a Saturday at the land. Sarah's family drove and flew in from New York, twelve people who arrived on Thursday and spent two days orienting to the land and to the family before the ceremony. Patricia helped in the kitchen on Friday. Her daughters—Sarah's sisters—helped with the Haudenosaunee preparations. By Saturday morning the kitchen and the barn were running two separate preparation operations that were coordinated but independent, each tradition handled by the people who carried it.

The ceremony was in the meadow beside the food forest. An elder from the Cherokee Nation officiated and said words that connected the land and the food and the families. A member of Sarah's family said words that connected the same things from the Mohawk side. The two sets of words were different and they were the same and everyone in the meadow knew it.

The meal was everything. I won't describe every dish again. I'll just say: the room recognized what it was being given, the same way it always does when food is made correctly by people who understand it. Patricia sat across the table from me and we ate the corn and sumac salad and she said: your proportion was also correct. I said: I know, but yours was better. She laughed.

Kai and Sarah at the head of the table. Danny's land underneath us. Danny's food in front of us. The knowledge still moving. More than enough. Everything I had hoped this land would become.

Patricia’s comment about proportion has stayed with me since that Saturday — the quiet recognition between two people who both understood what a dish was supposed to be. This orange-pistachio quinoa salad is the kind of thing that lives or dies by that same principle: the ratio of citrus to grain to nut, the moment you taste it and know the balance is right. It belongs on a table where people are paying attention, where the food is understood to be carrying something beyond just nourishment. I’ve made it since that day whenever I want to bring a little of that meadow back.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
2 3/4 cups water or vegetable broth
2 navel oranges, segmented and juice reserved
1/2 cup shelled roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from reserved juice above)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Cook the quinoa. Combine rinsed quinoa and water or broth in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and spread onto a sheet pan to cool to room temperature.
Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, reserved orange juice, white wine vinegar, honey, cumin, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Segment the oranges. Working over a bowl to catch juice, cut away the peel and pith from both oranges and slice between the membranes to release clean segments. Reserve the juice for the dressing if needed.
Combine the salad. In a large bowl, toss the cooled quinoa with the scallions, parsley, and cranberries. Pour the dressing over and toss gently to coat.
Finish and serve. Fold in the orange segments and top with the chopped pistachios. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. The salad holds well for up to 24 hours refrigerated — add the pistachios just before serving to keep them crisp.

Nutrition (per serving)

Orange-Pistachio Quinoa Salad — The Proportion That Was Also Correct