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Quinoa, Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad

Posted October 30th, 2011 in Grains, Recipes and tagged , , , by Rebecca Lane

Quinoa, Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad - spring version!

This is my favourite salad – originally from Ricki’s Kitchen (http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/)- but I’ve made it so many times now that it has evolved (or devolved as the case may be). Anyway I found out that it wasn’t available on my site when I tried to find it for @SandiKrakowski a twitter friend. Imagine my embarrassment!

Quinoa, Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad

 The brilliant crimson of roasted beets lends a gorgeous hue to this mineral- and protein-rich salad. Roasting the beets brings out their true sweetness and tender texture in contrast to the chewy quinoa and crunchy walnuts.

3-4 medium beets, washed and trimmed (do not peel)
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
½ cup walnuts, lightly roasted and cooled (or you can use the spicy pecan recipe here)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
Grated rind of one lemon
Juice of one lemon (about ¼ cup)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Maple syrup
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Pepper to taste

  1. Preheat oven to 425F. Wrap beets in foil and bake until extremely tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool, then slip off the skins and dice into 2 cm cubes. Set aside.
  2. Bring water to boil in a small heavy saucepan. Rinse quinoa well and add to water. Return to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Allow to simmer, untouched, for 25 minutes, then check to see if water has been absorbed. If not, continue simmering until all water is absorbed, then uncover and allow to cool. (If you are in a hurry, you can turn the hot quinoa into a glass bowl at this point and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes).
  3. In a nonstick frypan, heat oil and add garlic and lemon rind. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and maple syrup. Remove from heat.
  4. Add beets to cooled quinoa. Break walnuts into pieces and add to the bowl. Pour dressing over and toss well until quinoa becomes pink. Add cilantro and combine well. Season to taste with pepper. This salad is even better the second day, after flavours meld.

Serves 4

2 Responses so far.

  1. Peggy Utting says:

    Hi Rebecca:

    What a surprise to find the beet salad recipe that I had at your place and really thought is was delicious. I always wanted the recipe. Thank you.

    I am getting use to this computer, but I have a long way to go.

    Hope everything is going well for you and give my love to all.

    Love
    Peggy

    • Rebecca Lane says:

      Hi Peggy – You certainly are getting used to the computer. Congratulations on finding my site. I try and blog once a week or more (sometimes less) but right now I’m working on a study with the Ontario Athletic Therapists Assoc (OATA) developing protocols for nutrition for concussion. I plan on writing about my preliminary findings tomorrow morning. No good recipes but interesting information!

      Let me know if there are any other recipes you would like to have and I’ll post them because I’m certain others would like to have them too!
      Love, Rebecca

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