Beet and Cucumber Quinoa
Prep Time
60 minutes prep time
Number of Servings
serves 6
Ingredients
  • 1 cup red quinoa
  • [q:1 1/4] cup boiling water
  • [q:1/4] cup plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided
  • [q:1 1/2] tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed, divided
  • 8 oz cucumbers (4 small or 1 big), quartered lengthwise and cut into K-inch pieces
  • [q:1/4] cup roughly chopped fresh dill
  • [q:1/2] cup crumbled or cubed feta cheese
  • 2 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
  • [q:1 1/2] lb beets (3 to 5 medium beets), cooked, peeled, and cut into small bites
Directions
  1. Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water.
  2. Transfer quinoa to a medium saucepan set over medium heat, and toast, stirring constantly, until quinoa dries out and smells nutty, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add boiling water, 1 teaspoon of the oil, and [q:1/2] teaspoon of the salt, and bring mixture back to a boil. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Let cook undisturbed for 18 minutes.
  4. Remove pan from heat, uncover, and fluff quinoa with a fork.
  5. Transfer quinoa to a bowl about twice as large as you need to hold it. Let cool for a bit at room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely, 30 to 45 minutes.
  6. Remove bowl of quinoa from the refrigerator, gently stirring and tossing quinoa to fluff it up again.
  7. Add cucumbers, dill, feta, scallions, lemon juice, remaining [q:1/4] cup of oil, and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt, stirring to combine.
  8. Gently fold in beets. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
Nutrition Info
308 Calories, 9 g Protein, 40 g Carbohydrates, 6 g Fiber, 14 g Total fat (3 g sat), 524 mg Sodium, [nutrition:2] Vitamin C, K, [nutrition:1] Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Iron, Phosphorus, Potassium