Roasted Vegetable & Quinoa Salad

I haven't actually made this recipe yet, but as I have several friends who are gluten-intolerant, I thought that I'd post this as it A) it sounds really good and B) quinoa is good for you even if you can eat glutinous (ha!) products.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups quinoa

1/4 cup balsamic blend seasoned rice vinegar (such as Nakano brand)

2 tsps olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups chopped carrots

3 1/2 cups chopped zucchini

1 3/4 cups chopped yellow squash

1 jar of roasted red peppers

1 cup feta cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

cooking spray

1. Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add the quinoa. Cover, reduce heat and cook for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

2. Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and pepper in a bowl, then add the carrots; toss to coat. Drain the carrots but reserve the liquid. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat the zucchini and squash, once again reserving the extra liquid. Add the remainder of the vegetables to the baking sheet with the carrots and bale everything for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

3. Drain the jar of red peppers and cut into smaller strips, if so desired. In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, veggies, feta cheese and reserved vinegar liquid. Stir well to combine; cover and chill.

Cook's note:

1. There are three kinds of cultivated quinoa--white, red and black. I found red and white at Trader Joe's and one of the staff recommended that I toast the grains before cooking them. Toasting is easy but you need to be alert; place the amount of quinoa that you'll be cooking immediately in a large saucepan or cast-iron skillet, keep moving the pan over medium-high heat just until the grains smell toasty and remove from the heat source. Ta-da!

2. I'd use chicken or vegetable stock in lieu of water when making the quinoa; it adds another dimension of flavor. I always have chicken stock on hand, though, so it's easy for me to say!

3. Use whatever vegetables you like for this recipe, but remember that the harder ones (like carrots) will take longer to roast, so plan accordingly. Or email me and I can help you figure it out! And play around--green beans roast nicely as does broccoli and cauliflower, mushrooms and onion wedges. Mix it up!

4. As for the seasoned vinegar, if you don't have rice vinegar on hand, use balsamic or red wine vinegar; improvise. Rice vinegar is really nice to have around (you can find it at Albertson's on their "ethnic" aisle) as it's a lighter seasoning but don't get hung up on it. Seriously.

5. This recipe would be really good with diced chicken as a main dish or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken. Quinoa is just a versatile as rice and pasta and potatoes, so use your imagination!

Eat well,

Holly

~~As I have no quinoa picture, I'm sharing one of some of my herbs for fun.