Roasted Beet Quinoa

I wanted to create something seasonal and beautiful for our monthly Third-Thursday Community Potluck in January. The focus at these events is always on fresh, local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. A quick look in the fridge revealed several beets from a recent trip to the farmer's market. I knew that this would make a great base for a dish for our Third-Thursday Community Potluck, as well as a vibrant dish for my first blog post! I intended to make this a savory dish and I had anticipated adding several other ingredients, but once I tasted the beets with quinoa I didn't want to add anything to it! This dish really displays the hearty, earthy flavor of the beets and I didn't want to add too many other flavors into the dish. The beets are roasted and marinated in a simple fall/winter dressing. Marinating them draws the vibrant beet juice into the dressing, making the quinoa a deep magenta color.

The inspiration came to me the week prior when my friend Laura cooked dinner and she decided to throw some beet juice it into the dish to brighten things up, and the result was...incredible! While her dish was savory, the vibrant color form the beet juice stuck in my mind. This dish has a delicate flavor and it allows the natural sweetness from the beets to come through without competing for the spotlight.

4 small beets
4 tablespoons of Boiled Cider*
juice of one medium orange
2 tablespoons of citrus zest (I used grapefruit)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cardamom
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups quinoa**

Wash each beet thoroughly; individually wrap in aluminum foil. Place beets in 400°F oven for 1 hour.

Add together remaining ingredients (except for the quinoa) into a small bowl, whisking in the olive oil at the end.

Remove the beets from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes. The skin will slide right off while they are still hot. I julienned my beets (sort of, the pieces were a a little thicker than I had planned) but you can julienne or dice the beets. Add the beets into the dressing and allow to marinate overnight.

The next day cook the quinoa (see notes below) and drain any extra water from cooking. Add the beet mixture to the warm quinoa for the best results. The quinoa will soak up all of the dressing and distribute the color throughout.

I feel like anything that has a color this bright HAS to be healthy for you!!! I have been enjoying this "salad" over a bed of fresh arugula, and the peppery greens balance out the beets nicely. I even added a little bit of blue cheese with it to give it a little bit of a savory flavor profile.

*This Boiled Cider is made in Springfiled, VT at Wood's Cider Mill. They take the fresh Apple Cider and boil it down until it is extremely concentrated, and oh so tasty! They do not add anything to the Apple Cider and the taste is truly unique. They do ship so check out their website (I recommend buying the jelly if you are placing an order).

**To make quinoa measure out the amount needed and allow to sit for about 20 minutes in warm water. Drain through a fine mesh sieve and wash until water runs clear and doesn't look "soapy" anymore, this will get rid of any bitterness. Use a 2:1 ratio (liquid:quinoa). Boil water and quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes. Drain any remaining water.