Quinoa Salad with Beets

Prep Time:

Serves

makes 10-12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups quinoa
  • 1 1/8 teaspoons salt, plus more for dressing
  • 4 medium beets, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 large, seedless cucumber
  • chopped 1 pint yellow cherry tomatoes
  • halved 1 cup green beans, blanched and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly.
  2. Place in a medium saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water. Add 1/8 tsp. salt; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until quinoa is tender, 12–15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, place beets in a large saucepan; cover with cold water (by about an inch). Add 1 tsp. salt; bring to a simmer. Cook until beets are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 35–45 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
  4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in oil. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, beets, cucumber, tomatoes, green beans and parsley. Toss in dressing to serve.