It’s that time of year, the annual nine-days potluck luncheon when a whole bunch of us women get together to eat, shmooze and try out each others dairy dishes. Every year I agonize about what to make and inevitably I almost always end up making some form of a salad. Now, I know quinoa is overdone, or at least I feel it is overdone, but I had lots of it, it is super healthy and I find it a challenge to come up with new ways to use it. This is the salad I made. Roasted ruby red beets and sweet potatoes fresh from the Farmer’s market, a little fresh herbs and a delicious tahini and silan dressing. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Silan is date honey, a sweetener made from dates that is readily available in Israel and starting to find its way to America as well. It has a distinctively different taste than honey or maple syrup and a beautiful dark color but in a pinch if you can’t find it then substitute maple syrup or agave nectar to sweeten the dressing. Enjoy!

Directions

Cook the Quinoa

1. Rinse the quinoa very well under running water for at least a minute.

2. Heat the two tablespoons of oil in a pot and add the quinoa. Stir for a minute to toast the quinoa slightly.

3. Add the stock, or if you are using water, add the water and season it with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and simmer the quinoa for about 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

4. Once the water is absorbed, close the flame and leave the pot covered to let the quinoa steam. Uncover after five minutes, fluff the quinoa with a fork, and let it cool.

Roast the Vegetables

1. Meanwhile, while the quinoa is cooking, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Place the cubed beets and sweet potatoes on a baking tray. Drizzle on the three tablespoons oil, season with salt and pepper, mix and place in the oven. Roast the vegetables until they are easily pierced with a knife (the beets will be a bit firmer than the sweet potatoes).

Make the Dressing

1. Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, salt, garlic and silan. The mixture will be thick and a little hard to mix. Slowly mix in the water adding as much as needed until you achieve the desired consistency (you should be able to drizzle it over the salad.)

Assemble

1. Place the quinoa in a bowl. Top with the scallions, roasted beets and sweets. Drizzle the dressing over it all and garnish with the sesame seeds and chopped parsley.

About

The Gush Gourmet is a food blogger and caterer based out of beautiful Gush Etzion, Israel. Follow her on instagram a @TheGushGourmet or at her blog TheGushGourmet.blogspot.com for more great recipes.

Recipe tags

Beet salad Beets Complex carbs Healthy Healthy cooking Quinoa Silan dressing Sweet potato salad Tachina Tahina Tahini Techina

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Sweets and Beets and Tahini Silan Dressing

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tova moseson

11 months ago

Fabulous. Amazing flavors and colors. Everyone loves it, even the beets and quinoa skeptics. The toasted sesame seeds takes it over the top.

Tova Broide

2 years ago

I gave out this salad for mishloach manos and got back rave reviews. It was very easy to prepare and looked beautiful in the container.

Estee

5 years ago

Delicious This was a great addition to the table. It’s comorful and delicious. I made the components the day before and assembled the day of. Thanks for another great recipe!