Fall Roasted Vegetable Salad with Quinoa

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Quinoa

Hearty Fall Cookery

Taking advantage of the heartier fall vegetables that are available until the first frost makes this salad, paired with a “thick as fog” pea soup, the perfect autumn supper, healthy, very easy to throw together, and substantial enough to ward off the chill in the autumn air.

With that in mind, I like to serve this salad slightly warmed and the mustard dill dressing at room temperature. Feel free to include whatever vegetables are at hand, including turnips, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beets (roasted separately; posted in basics), celery root, endive, mushrooms, and so on.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Quino    Serves 4

Quinoa

• 2 cup quinoa, well rinsed
• 3 cups vegetable stock (or water)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Rinse the quinoa until the water runs clear. This will remove the bitterness. Place in a rice steamer or large sauce pan with a lid. Add the stock, garlic, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed into the grain. Remove from the heat and set aside to finish steaming for 20 minutes with the lid on. Then, remove the lid and fluff the Quinoa with a wooden spoon and serve, or set aside until you are ready to assemble the salad.

Roasted Vegetables      

Fall Roasted Vegetables for Salad with Quinoa

 preheat oven to 425F/220C

• 3 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut into bit size wedges
• 8 large shallots, outer skin removed
• 1 large head garlic cloves, seperated/unpeeled
• 1 head of cauliflower, separated into florets
• 16 baby carrots, unpeeled and halved lengthwise
• 2 Italian red sweet pepper, seeded, halved and cut into strips
• 2 long green chiles, seeded , cut into strips and sliced into 1 inch strips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dill seeds
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Parboil the potato wedges for about 5 minutes in salted water, drain, and set aside.

Combine the shallots, garlic cloves, cauliflower florets, baby carrots, red peppers, green chiles (optional), and parboiled potatoes in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil over the surface of the vegetables. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over all and gently toss to coat all the vegetables in olive oil. Place the tossed vegetables in a baking pan large enough to hold all the vegetables in a single layer. Place in the oven and roast for 40-50 minutes, turning the vegetables every 15 minutes.

Once the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle remove the garlic cloves and remove the skin and reserve half of the cloves for the dressing.

Roasted Garlic Mustard Dill Dressing   makes 1 ½ cups

• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 1/4 cup roasted garlic (reserved from roasted vegetables), minced
• 1 teaspoon dill seeds, crushed
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup sweet mustard
• 4-5 tablespoons Greek yogurt

              If you don’t have sweet mustard it is easy to make your own!

• 1 oz ground mustard powder (Colman’s Suuper fine)
• 1 cup organic cider vinegar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sugar (or honey)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt 

Combine the mustard powder and cider vinegar in a jar and set aside for several hours.

Beat the egg and sugar (or honey) together and combine with the mustard vinegar mixture and salt and place in a double boiler set over medium heat. Stir continuously until the dressing thickens. If your double boiler insert is porcelain it will take longer to thicken than in a stainless steel double boiler. Be patient, it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream! Set aside to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan set over medium low heat and add the minced shallots and saute until very soft. Add the minced roasted garlic, dill seeds, and stock and continue to cook until the stock is reduced by half. Transfer the mixture to a mini food processor and blend into a smooth puree.

Transfer the puree to a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature, then add the sweet mustard and mix until well combined. Add the Greek yogurt and fold into the dressing until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve, or refrigerate for later use.

Assembling the salad:

If the dressing has been refrigerated, remove from the fridge 15 minutes before serving.

Warm the vegetables and quinoa for 10 minutes in the oven set at the lowest temperature. Spoon several tablespoons of the dressing over the quinoa and toss. Add half of the vegetables to the quinoa and toss to combine. Spoon the quinoa/vegetables mixture onto individual serving plates. Top with the remaining roasted vegetables and drizzle dressing over the top of the vegetables. Serve with additional dressing in a pitcher set on the table.