While you have the feta and mint ready, here is another summer salad. This one was adapted from Peter Berley’s class. He used farro (spelt) but I had quinoa on hand. Also, he used golden beets–so that the color would not bleed into the rest of the salad. I only had red beets, so I did just added the beets on top at the end, rather than mixing them in with the cucumbers and quinoa.

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Ingredients:

• 3-4 beets, cooked, peeled, and diced

Beet Preparation Note (can be done ahead of time and stored in fridge) I roasted in an aluminum foil pouch for about an hour at 400 degrees, testing for done-ness when a fork glided easily through the beets. Depending on the size, it takes about an hour or more. Then, I allowed them to cool. Once cool, I used a paper towel to remove the skins from the beets, and diced.

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked (click here for cooking instructions-see steps 1 and 2)
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 lemon

Mint Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, cucumbers and vinaigrette. Mix well. Top with beets. Refrigerate until cold.
3. Add the feta, dill, and parsley to the salad. Season with extra lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Top with beets.

Posted by freshfrombrooklyn in grain salad Tags: beet, cucumber, dairy, feta, grain, mint, quinoa, Salad