Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets & Pear Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 3 beets (medium sized, any variety, try a mix of red and golden beets)
- Any fruity Olive Tap Extra Virgin Olive Oil (a small drizzle for roasting the beets)
- 1 Pear (ripe, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1/4 C. Walnuts (toasted)
- 1/4 C. Feta cheese (crumbled)
- 3 C. Mixed salad greens
- 3/8 C. Cooked Quinoa (traditional or black)
- 4 T. Olive Tap Walnut Oil *(1 T. for quinoa, 3 T. for vinaigrette)
*you may substitute your favorite Olive Tap 100% EVOO
- 1 to 2 T. Olive Tap Pear Balsamic Vinegar (start with 1 T., if you like a sweeter vinaigrette add another T.)
- 1/2 T. Honey
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roast the beets by drizzling them with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap in foil. Depending on the size and freshness of your beets, roast in oven 40 minutes to 1 hour, checking occasionally until they are fork-tender and set aside to cool.
When cool, rinse the beets under cool water to slide off the skin. Chop into roughly 1/2 inch cubes and set them aside to cool completely. (Tap’s Tip: May be done up to one day ahead and refrigerate until salad assembly).
Take the already-cooked quinoa and toast it a little, by tossing it in a small hot skillet for a couple of minutes. Drizzle the quinoa with walnut oil and salt, remove from the heat and set aside. Assemble all salad ingredients on a platter.
For the Vinaigrette:
In a small bowl add 3 T. of Walnut Oil. Slowly add Pear Balsamic Vinegar (1-2 T.), whisking constantly. While whisking add 1/2 T. of Honey and salt and pepper to taste.
Drizzle prepared vinaigrette over salad, garnish with toasted walnuts and serve immediately.
An Olive Tap Original Recipe Adaptation from Blogger, Camille Styles.
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