I have a confession to make: it has taken me years to enjoy eating beets.
I have a second confession to make: I like yellow beets better than red beets.
I might lose readers over these 2 confessions, but both are true. I have always wanted to love beets, but they usually fall into the “I’ll put up with you because you’re pretty” category.
For a few years now, I’ve had one solid recipe with red beets. I adore it. It’s one of my favorites. Then I added a really delicious “heartbeet soup” to my repertoire, but it’s really best in winter. I was determined to create another beet-friendly recipe that could straddle a few seasons and that my husband might like, too (he loves beets, but not usually the way I make them. Sigh…)
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere the idea for this recipe appeared. Ok, maybe not nowhere. I might have had a lot of beets and some extra carrots and tomatoes that needed eating and fast. Still, this recipe was a gift. A stroke of brilliance.
And it’s gotten better each time I make it.
So now I’m giving it to you.
It’s a perfect transition recipe, from summer to autumn. Everything in the recipe should be easy to find in mid-late summer through October or early November, depending on where you live.
So enjoy this gift from my kitchen to yours. Let me know what you think and if it’s caused you to fall more in love with beets than ever before, too.
Tale of Two Beets Quinoa Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients~
1 cup quinoa plus enough water to cook
1 large red beet, cut into the smallest pieces possible
1 large yellow beet, cut into the smallest pieces possible
4 large carrots, cut into the smallest pieces possible
(you should have roughly 4 cups of beets and carrots, total)
1 cup cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cups sliced almonds
salt, pepper to taste
Directions~
Cook your quinoa like you usually done. Once it’s done, set aside to cool. Ideally, you do this earlier in the day so the quinoa isn’t hot when you throw this together. And it’s a little fluffier and drier. That’s just my preference, though. If you like your quinoa hot and wet, by all means, do it while you’re making everything else.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Coat your veggies and chickpeas with olive oil, spices, and salt/pepper. Put in the oven for 15 minutes, or until tender.
Once done, remove from oven to cool a bit.
While it’s cooling, add the quinoa, tomatoes, and raisins to a large bowl. When the veggies are ready, add them in and stir well. Then add in the seeds/nuts. If you need a little more flavor, add in more spices, salt, and/or pepper.
Serve it up and enjoy!
