Winter Rainbow Quinoa Salad from PinchofYum.com
Salad in winter can be bright, exciting and healthy! This easy, lovely dish makes a splash for a potluck, special occasion or another night at home. The pomegranate pops; the apples and beets are sweet and the quinoa and spinach serve up protein in a colorful, appealing way. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups red quinoa, cooked
- 2 cups beets, cooked & chopped (pickled are OK)
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 4 oz. feta cheese
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- 2 cups apples, chopped (Opal don't turn brown)
- 2 cups fresh spinach, torn (or spinach mix)
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- your favorite light dressing
- dried cranberries, handful
Instructions
- Boil cleaned beets till fork tender. This takes about 40 minutes. Peel and cut in bite-size pieces. This can be done a day ahead and stored in a little vinaigrette.
- Cook quinoa. To get just 2 cups, use 2/3 cup quinoa and 1 2/3 cups water. In my rice cooker, it takes 19 minutes. Also can be done ahead.
- Score pomegranate and pull sections apart to peel away the red arils. Once again, you can peel and store these too.
- Mix everything together, saving some pistachios, feta for the top with a handful of dried cranberries if you like.
Notes
The original recipe from Pinch of Yum suggests this would be a wonderful salad to layer in Mason jars and refrigerated 4-5 days. What a neat idea for a picnic. For layering instructions, head to the link.