Quinoa Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta AND Greek Grilled Scallop Sandwiches

My mom doesn't like "trendy food" but when I got the new issue of Food and Wine Magazine in the mail this week I couldn't help but try to recreate these dishes from some noted new stars. Pairing these two recipes looked great on the plate and they went very well together. I subbed arugula instead of pea tendrils (someone please tell me where you expect you to find these by the way) and I left saffron out of the Greek yogurt sauce because I am too cheap. The feta in the salad is key because is adds some much needed saltiness so don't skip.

Quinoa Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta

INGREDIENTS
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 medium radishes, very thinly sliced
1/2 pound thin green beans
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 large English cucumber—halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 ounces Greek feta cheese, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small saucepan, bring the red wine vinegar to a simmer with the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the radish slices. Let stand until cool, about 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the green beans until they are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1 1/2-inch lengths.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer over low heat until all of the water has been absorbed, about 12 minutes. Uncover and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the quinoa with the parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Drain the radishes and add them to the quinoa, along with the beans, cucumber and feta. Toss well and serve.

Greek Grilled Scallop Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup Greek-style whole-milk yogurt
Pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 small black plum, thinly sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil
12 large sea scallops (1 1/4 pounds)
2 thin slices of prosciutto, cut into thin strips
36 pea tendrils (1 cup)

DIRECTIONS
1. Light a grill. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, saffron and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
2. Brush the plum slices with oil and grill over high heat until lightly charred, 30 seconds per side. Brush the scallops with oil, season with salt and pepper and grill them over high heat until charred and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
3. Cut each scallop in half crosswise. Place a plum slice on the bottom half of each scallop. Lay the prosciutto strips over the plums, then top each one with 2 pea tendrils and cover with the scallop tops. Secure with toothpicks and put 3 on each plate. Top each scallop sandwich with 1 teaspoon of the yogurt sauce and garnish with the remaining pea tendrils. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Quinoa Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta AND Greek Grilled Scallop Sandwiches