Autumn Quinoa Salad with Kale, Beets, and Pears

New recipe post!

This week we got so many fun fall ingredients in our CSA delivery. Have I mentioned how much I love the fall? On Tuesday night, Tim and I spent a lot of time together in the kitchen, and I put together a salad to have for lunch the rest of the week. I wanted to use multiple ingredients in one meal, and I chose to use the kale, beets, and pears.

Autumn Quinoa Salad with Kale, Beets, and Pears

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 bunch kale, rinsed, chopped, and massaged with juice from half a lemon
• 3 small to medium-sized beets, peeled, and chopped into quarter to half-inch cubes
• 1 pear, peeled, and sliced into match sticks
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• Half a red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• A few squirts of agave
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crumbled goat cheese, optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Put the beets in a tinfoil pouch with a half to full tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Close up the pouch and cook for about 10 minutes or until fork tender.
3. Meanwhile, put the 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups of water in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then simmer 15 minutes until cooked.
4. Mix all the other ingredients with the quinoa and cooked beets in a large bowl. Sprinkle with goat cheese if desired, and enjoy!

One thing I think people often overlook when they make a dish is not the flavor of their ingredient selection, but the variety of textures used. Since the quinoa, kale, and cooked beets all share a similar consistency, the pears added a unique mouth-feel to this salad. They weren’t overly ripe yet, so the crispy and juicy combination worked to our advantage.

Even though I’m calling this my autumn quinoa salad, I think it would make a festive addition to any holiday table in a couple of months! Isn’t it pretty?

–Let’s chat–
Do you ever think about the consistency or texture of the ingredients you cook with? What ingredients (besides pumpkin and apples!) come to mind when you think of fall?

One last thing today… congratulations to two of our dearest friends, Cate and Joe, who welcomed their new baby girl, Brynn, into the world yesterday. We cannot wait to meet her!