Red Quinoa Salad

This salad not only looks attractive but, thanks to red quinoa, beets and greens, packed with protein, nourishing vitamins and minerals. You can find classic red beets in supermarket produce aisles year-round. This time of the year, end of August through October, the most amazing beets can be found at the local farmer market. They are vibrant in color and juicy!

Ingredients:

3-4 baked beets, peeled and cubed

1 cups of red quinoa( 2 cups cooked)

1 cup chopped toasted walnuts(pecans work great)

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

3-4 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 lemon juice

1-2 garlic cloves, mashed with flat side of the knife and finely sliced

red pepper flakes to taste

greens for serving

Directions:

Prepare beets. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake beets in covered clay dish for 45-60 min, until tender and easily pierced with a knife. Remove beets from the oven , completely cool them, peel the skin off . Shred the beets or slice them in small cubes.

Prepare quinoa. Rinse quinoa under cold water. Bring 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a boil, lower the heat, cover with the lid and cook until quinoa is dry and fluffy, about 15-20 min. Let it cool completely.

In a big salad bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, mashed garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the quinoa, beets, scallions, parsley and mix well to combine.

Serve it over bed of greens, top it with more toasted nuts or crumbled goat cheese.

Note from Anastasiya: In this recipe I used half of quinoa and half of Kaniwa, pronounced “ka-nyi-wa”. Kaniwa has been cultivated for thousands of years throughout South America. It was a staple grain of the ancient Incan cultures.This grain is gluten free and is an excellent source of iron, protein, variety of vitamins and minerals, making it nutritionally complete food.