Spoons with lemon and quinoa salad

I have tested these edible spoons with lemon and quinoa salad multiple times, especially when I want to create something different for a festive platter. They are practical if you have special silicone molds, but they also work as thick cookies or small tarts. I received the first set of molds as a gift, and since then, I have been trying various combinations, but the quinoa version is one of the most used at home, especially in the summer.

Quick Info

Total time: approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes
Effective preparation time: 35 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 15 minutes (for each batch of spoons)
Servings: 12-16 spoons, depending on size
Difficulty: easy to medium (requires special spoon molds, but otherwise simple)
Recipe type: savory snack, suitable for appetizer platters

Ingredients

For the spoons:
70 g soft butter
1 egg
30 ml olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon zest
180 g flour
a few sea salt crystals (for sprinkling)
For the salad:
100 g quinoa mix (white and red)
2 tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
fresh coriander (or parsley, according to preference)
1 lemon (juice and zest)
5 tablespoons grape seed oil
mango sauce (1 tablespoon, optional)
salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preparing the spoon dough

Place the soft butter in a bowl. Add the egg, olive oil, and lemon zest. Mix with a wooden spoon or your hands until somewhat combined. Add the flour and continue mixing until you obtain a fairly compact dough. No long kneading is necessary.

Quickly form a ball from the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This step is important – it rolls out better after resting and doesn’t deform during baking.

2. Cooking the quinoa

While the dough is chilling, rinse the quinoa in several waters. Bring it to a boil with enough water and a pinch of salt. Cook for 30 minutes, then drain and let it cool. It doesn't matter if you use only white or only red quinoa; the mix gives a more interesting appearance.

3. Preparing the salad

When the quinoa is cool, dice the tomatoes and bell pepper into small cubes. Place them in a large bowl. Add finely chopped coriander or parsley, to taste. Add the zest and juice of one lemon. Drizzle with grape seed oil and gently mix everything together. If you have mango sauce, add a tablespoon and mix. Finally, add salt to taste.

4. Shaping and baking the spoons

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out on a surface to a thickness of 2-3 mm. If you have special spoon molds, cut the dough and arrange it in the silicone molds. If not, cut shapes as close to spoons as possible and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. In each spoon indentation, place 2-3 sea salt crystals.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes, until they slightly color at the edges. Do not let them brown too much – they will be more tender if you take them out on time.

After each batch, gather the remaining dough, roll it out again, and repeat until you finish all the dough.

5. Assembling and serving

Allow the spoons to cool completely before filling them. Fill each spoon with quinoa salad. If you have more salad, place the rest in a bowl in the center of the platter.

Why I make this recipe often

It’s practical for festive platters and easy to adapt to what I have in the fridge. The spoons can be made in advance, and the salad can be changed according to the season. Plus, there’s no cleanup after everything disappears from the table.

Tips and Variations

Tips

- If the dough seems too soft after you take it out of the refrigerator, sprinkle a little more flour on the surface when rolling it out.
- The butter should be soft, not melted, for better incorporation.
- When baking, let them cool in the molds for a few minutes – they are fragile while warm.

Substitutions

- Olive oil can be replaced with another vegetable oil.
- For the salad, parsley works just as well instead of coriander.
- If you don’t have mango sauce, it’s not a problem, but it adds a nice tangy flavor.

Variations

- You can add other small vegetables to the salad, depending on the season: cucumber, finely chopped red onion, radishes.
- Make the spoons smaller or thinner if you want them as a crunchy snack, but be careful with the baking time.
- Instead of spoons, the same dough can be used for mini-tarts.

Serving Ideas

- They look great on a platter for parties or brunch.
- You can fill the spoons with other types of cold salads.
- For a picnic, keep the salad separate and fill the spoons on-site to prevent them from getting soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I make the spoons without special molds?
Yes, but they won’t have the exact spoon shape – you can shape them like oval cookies or small tartlets.

2. Can the spoons be frozen?
I do not recommend it. After freezing, the texture changes, and they become brittle or soggy.

3. Can I make the dough with margarine instead of butter?
Yes, but the final texture will be different, and the taste will be less rich.

4. Does pre-cooked quinoa from a package work?
Yes, if you have pre-cooked packaged quinoa, just use it directly, draining any excess liquid.

5. Can I add cheese to the salad?
Yes, small cubes of cheese work very well if you don’t want a vegan salad.

Nutritional Values

Approximately, one serving (one spoon with salad) has around 70 kcal. Most of the calories come from butter, oil, and quinoa. Protein: about 2 g per serving, fat: 3-4 g, carbohydrates: 7-8 g. If you add cheese or other ingredients, the values will increase. The calculations are approximate, depending on how large you make the spoons and how much salad you add.

Storage and Reheating

The spoons store well in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. It’s important not to fill them with salad beforehand – they will get soggy. Fill them only before serving. The quinoa salad lasts in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in a covered container. There’s no need to reheat anything – they are served cold.

In a bowl, we mix the soft butter with the egg, lemon zest, olive oil, and flour; after homogenizing, we form a dough ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes; In the meantime, we prepare the salad; we boil quinoa in salted water for 30 minutes; we drain it, and after it cools, we mix it in a bowl with diced tomatoes and bell pepper, chopped cilantro or parsley, lemon zest, olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt (1 tablespoon of mango sauce, optional), making a vinaigrette and mixing it into the salad. From the dough, we roll out a thick sheet of 2-3mm, cut out with a spoon shape, place them in a silicone mold, and in the spoon's indentation, we put 2-3 crystals of sea salt, then we bake them for 15 minutes; we gather the remaining dough and repeat the process until the dough is finished. We serve on a platter the spoons filled with salad, and in the middle, a bowl with the leftover salad.

 Ingredients: 70g butter, 1 egg, 30ml olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 180g flour, sea salt, SALAD, 2 tomatoes, 1 lemon, 5 tablespoons grape seed oil, 1 red bell pepper, 100g quinoa mix (white and red), fresh coriander, mango sauce (optional)

 Tags:  lemon dessert