Quinoa and Beet Salad

1 lbs
some

2 cups
3 cups
1/4 medium
1 clove
1/2 t

1/4 cup
2 T
4 t
1 t

1/2 cup
1/4 cup
1 medium
1/2 cup
5 or 6
to taste

beets
olive oil, salt, pepper

quinoa
water
onion - minced
garlic - minced
salt

lime juice
olive oil
dijon mustard
ground cumin

shredded carrots
sunflower seeds
red bell pepper - small dice
feta - crumbled
basil leaves or 1/4 cup cilantro - minced
salt and pepper

• Wash and peel the beets.  Cut into 1/2" chunks.  Sprinkle beets with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Roast at 350 until done.  I typically tent with foil so that air can move over the beets and I use our toaster oven on convection.  Cook these any way you like.  Roasting will concentrate their flavor and slightly caramelize the surfaces.
• Set aside to cool.

• Rinse the quinoa well in a sieve and let it drain.

• Toast in a dry pot on medium heat for roughly 5 minutes stirring often.
• Add the rest of the second set and simmer covered until done, roughly 15 minutes.
• Spread quinoa over a baking pan or cookie sheet to cool.

• Whisk 3rd set in a small bowl to form the dressing.

• Gently mix everything together, saving beets and feta for the end so that it's not all pink with broken feta.
• Serve cold.  Taste fine if made a day or two ahead.
  
• Note:  On 3/21/14 we mixed about 3 or 4 cups of cooked brown rice with a few shredded carrots and a 1/2 batch of this dressing and it was great.  Served it cold.

• Yield: 10 to 15 as a side dish
  
• Source:  Modified from Cook's Illustrated
  

Category:  American                                                                                                                                              Modified 4/22/14