Winter Wonder Quinoa Salad

November 1, 2023

• Prep time: 30 minutes

• Cook time: 30 minutes

• Total time: 1 hour

• Serves: 10-14

Bring this salad to a holiday gathering or simply serve for a dinner with a little roasted chicken or butternut squash as a side. It is chock full of polyphenols protecting your body's tissues against oxidative stress, heart disease and inflammation! In addition to that the fiber from the grains and veggies is helping your microbiome!

Ingredients

Grains (Optional)

• 1 c dry organic quinoa, cook (follow directions on the package)

• 1 c freekeh, cook (follow directions on the package)

Veggies!

• 1 shredded or thinly sliced carrot

• 1 thinly sliced cucumber

• 1 head of thinly sliced napa cabbage

• 1 whole pomegranate

• 4 medium (precooked ) shredded beets, I buy mine at whole foods

• 1/4 diced red cabbage

• 1/2 diced fennel top, You can dice up the bulb tiny too. I did not have the bulb left so I just used the top

• 1/2 shredded watermelon radish

• 1/2-1 whole, diced persimmon

• 1/2 c diced microgreens, I used sunflower microgreens - they are the mildest tasting to my family

• 1 head of diced romain or cos lettuce, I used cos

Dressing

• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

• 1 1/2 T raspberry balsamic vinegar

• 1 T pure maple syrup

• 1/4 t sumac, if you have it. If not, just a pinch of salt

Goat cheese topper

• 6 oz goat cheese crumbled

Method

Grains

• Cook the grains as the packaging specifies. You will get a lot of grain, you can use all of it if you have a big gathering or set a cup or so aside in your fridge to use later. I add grains to most everything!

  Place grains in the fridge to cool them down.

Veggies

• Chop all fruits and veggies as specified, or to your liking and place in a large bowl. You can set some aside if you want to decorate the top of your salad for presentation purposes!

Dressing

• In a mason jar with a lid (or something similar), mix the olive oil, maple syrup, raspberry balsamic, and sumac (or a dash of salt) well.

Putting it all together

• Bring your cooled grains out and mix with the chopped veggies. Top with goat cheese and extra fruit and veggies set aside for presentation! Drizzle dressing on the top!