Quinoa Salad Recipes with Beetroot
The story with quinoa salad recipes...
I've just finished a fabulous yoga and nutrition workshop at Kinsale Yoga Centre. The theme of the workshop was 'Enhancing Vitality' and the aim of the workshop was to show people how both food and yoga could be used to help you stay well this autumn.
From a food perspective, the changing season brings with it a whole range of new ingredients and way of eating. Autumn berries, apples and pears, root vegetables to name but a few. As we shake off the summer salads and long evenings, Autumn brings with it a time for slowing down and storing up for the winter.
One of the many things discussed at the workshop was how useful spices and herbs can be in helping to warm ourselves as the season moves on and the temperature drops. I prepared a recipe for the day that really showed how easy it is to warm your favourite foods and adapt to the oncoming season while there is still a hint of summer in the air.
I usually use cinnamon and turmeric, great warming and health promoting spices to warm up my quinoa salad recipes. This recipe went down a treat so I thought I'd share it with you.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of quinoa (about 160g)
- 2 cups of cold water
- 1 pinch of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 medium beetroot OR one pack of 4 cooked beetroots
- 1 tin of lentils (I use puy lentils) - wash and rinse well
- Dressing:
- 30ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 limes
- 1 pinch of cumin
- 2 tbsp of chopped coriander
- 2 tbsp of chopped mint
Instructions
- Serves 4 as a light lunch
- You can have the beetroot in this recipe raw or cooked. If you would like to cook your own, simply wash well, place in a saucepan and cover about half with water. Bring to boil, cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Place the quinoa in a sieve and run under a cold tap for a few seconds. Give it a really good rinse.
- Place the washed quinoa in a saucepan over a hot heat, cover with cold water and the cinnamon and turmeric, and bring to the boil.
- Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. cook for 10 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Now, if you find your quinoa gets lumpy. I find fluffing it with a fork at this stage really helps.
- If you are having beetroot raw, simply peel beetroot and grate into a large bowl. If you are using the cooked beetroot, simply grate.
- Add the quinoa into the large bowl with the beetroot and add the lentils and the dressing and mix well.
- Dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, sugar free
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