First, let's make the dressing. To a bowl or measuring jar, add the tahini and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grate 2 cloves of garlic into the jar.
Now add dijon mustard, maple syrup, red wine vinegar, cumin powder, salt and pepper (to taste), lemon juice and 2 to 3 tablespoons cold waterStir it all together using a wire whisk until you have a creamy dressing. You can taste test and adjust the seasonings at this point. If it's too thick, you can also add additional water.
Make the salad
Take 2 cups of chopped kale, sprinkle a little salt and a touch of olive oil and massage it for 2 to 3 minutes. This makes the texture of kale softer and taste milder.
Then add it to a large bowl along with cooked quinoa, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper and chopped red onion.
Boil 2 ears of corn, I used an instant pot, placed 2 husked corn ears in the pot over a trivet with 1 & 1/2 cups water in the main inner pot and cooked on high pressure for 2 minutes. When the cooking cycle is finished, quick release the pressure by moving the pressure valve from sealing to venting position. Once cooled, cut the kernels off the cob.
Add the corn to the same bowl along with grapes, toasted walnuts and chopped parsley.
Once all the salad ingredients are added to the bowl, pour over the dressing. You will not need the entire dressing for this salad. I was left with around 1/2 cup of dressing, store the leftover dressing in the fridge for up to a week and use as needed.
Using a salad spoon and fork, mix until the dressing is well combined with the rest of the ingredients. I like to let this salad sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to mix in together and then serve. You can also serve it at room temperature. It can also be served cold.
Notes
The cook time is the time it takes for cooking quinoa. Do all the prep work while the quinoa is cooking, so the total time remains 30 minutes.
The dressing recipe here makes a lot more than you need for this salad. Store the leftovers in a refrigerator and use throughout the week. After adding the required dressing for the salad, I was left with around 1/2 cup of it. This would vary depending on how much dressing you prefer in your salads.
Skip the onions if making this for potlucks. Cut onions can sometimes have a very strong smell/taste when left for long and that can spoil the whole salad. If you are making this for a picnic or potluck a day before, then skip the onion. Of course, if you are making and taking it straight away to a picnic, then do add the onions!