This salad would also be delightful with a crumble of fresh, organic goat cheese and sprinkled with slivered almonds for a nice crunch ~ glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
3 cups cooked quinoa
While the quinoa is cooking, roast the beets.
2 beets, trimmed and quartered
Olive oil
Sea salt
In a medium roasting pan, combine the cut beets with a drizzle of olive oil, and sea salt. Place the pan in the center of a pre-heated oven and roast until beets are tender (45 minutes). Remove the beets from the hot pan and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub off the skin. Cut the beets into bite sized pieces.
Meanwhile make your salad dressing:
1/4 cup fruity olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons Organic Gluten-Free Tamari Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon organic raw agave nectar or local honey
Combine the dressing ingredients in a glass measuring cup and whisk. Set aside.
Combine the warm, cooked quinoa in a mixing bowl with:
1 cup drained rinsed chick peas
2 handfulls of baby spinach leaves
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Pour in the salad dressing and toss lightly. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.
Gently add in:
Cut up roasted beets
1 fresh orange, peeled, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
Do not over mix or your entire salad will turn beet red. Serve with a sprinkle of slivered almonds, if desired. Serves 4.