Beet Snap Pea Quinoa Salad
This Beet Snap Pea Quinoa Salad may look simple but I assure you the flavors are not. The idea for this salad was born out of vegetables I had at home and the fact that I only wanted to make one thing for dinner. I toasted the quinoa before cooking to add extra nutiness that is underscored by the roasted hazelnuts. The beets are roasted and that can be done up to a few days in advance. I parboiled the snap peas to give it an extra pop of green which you can see in the pictures below. The dressing that I used was left over from the night before. I dumped fresh basil, mayo, garlic, olive oil and salt into a blender until it was smooth. It’s the perfect complement to this salad. Alas, when I brought it to the table, my in-house food critic decided he doesn’t eat quinoa so I made a bowl for him minus the quinoa. He loved it. So, if you don’t like quinoa you can just leave it out and it will still be delicious. Make an extra large batch and you can eat it for lunch through out the week.
The ingredients
Add snap peas to boiling water
Cook until bright green and then add to ice bath
Chop beets and snap peas
Toast quinoa with a little olive oil and then cook according to instructions on the package
Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts
Toss and serve
- 3 beets roasted and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 3 cups of snap peas, trimmed
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup toasted hazelnuts
- ¼ cup creamy basil dressing ( see recipe below)
- Add snap peas to a pot of boiling water.
- Cook until bright green and transfer to a bowl with ice water
- Slice into thirds and set aside
- Chop hazelnuts coarsly and set aside
- Toast quinoa with olive oil and salt until fragrant
- Add water and cook according to directions on package
- When quinoa is cooked and has cooled, toss with beets, snap peas, hazelnuts and dressing
- Serve
- Two handfuls of fresh basil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Add all ingredients to a blender
- Process until smooth
- If the dressing is too thick, you can add some water to thin it
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