Red Quinoa Salad with Honey Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 8
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 572.2
  • Total Fat: 33.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
  • Sodium: 382.7 mg
  • Total Carbs: 59.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 10.1 g
  • Protein: 14.4 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Red Quinoa Salad with Honey Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette calories by ingredient



Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

    Ingredients
    • Arugula – 4-6 cups
    • 1 cup of dried mission figs, diced - soak in 1 T of good balsamic vinegar & a drizzle of honey while prepping the rest of the salad ingredients
    • 1.5-2 cups of walnut pieces, toasted
    • 1 bunch of fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed
    • 3 large red beets, tops trimmed off, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
    • 2 cups of red quinoa, uncooked
    • 4 cups of chicken broth
    • 2-3 T olive oil
    • ½ tsp sea salt
    • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
    • Honey Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)



    Honey Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette

    1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
    1/4 tsp sea salt
    1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
    1/4 cup honey
    1/4 cup walnut oil

    Combine vinegar, honey, salt & pepper in bowl...slowly drizzle in walnut oil while whisking continuously to emulsify into the other ingredients

Directions

If you have a rice cooker, cook the quinoa just like you would rice: 1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid. If you do not have rice cooker, place quinoa and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). You will know that the quinoa is done when the spiral-like germ has separated.

While the quinoa is cooking, toss the beet slices and asparagus in a few tablespoons of good olive oil, sprinkle 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper and toss lightly. Grill over medium heat until the beet slices are fork-tender and the asparagus are bright green and tender-crisp. Once cool enough to handle, chop the beets into a dice and the asparagus into 1/4" sections. At this time, combine the balsamic-marinated figs, the beets and the asparagus. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, fluff with a fork and combine with the figs, beets and asparagus.

For serving, divide arugula amongst the plates - approximately 1 cup of greens per plate. Top with 1 cup of quinoa mix and dress with 1-2 T of the honey walnut balsamic vinaigrette.

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user RACERXGIRL.