This was an unexpected dish for us. I just happened to stumble across this recipe online a few days again and after reading through it, I realized that I already had all the necessary ingredients right here at home. Since I didn’t have to run out for anything, I decided to give it a go. It’s actually really very good.
The Recipe
This is another one of those warm salads that’s ever so good to eat. I absolutely love salads like this. The original recipe used butternut squash, but since I had quite a few sweet potatoes, I decided to go with them. Feel free to choose whichever you prefer. Both cook in the same amount of time and both are perfect for this. There’s a lot of onion in this recipe along with a lot of quinoa. Those ingredients, combined with a pleasantly sweet apple cider vinaigrette really bring things over the top. Believe it or not, my favorite parts of this salad were the dried cherries and parsley. I have so much parsley in the refrigerator, so I added more than enough to this dish. It had a lightening effect on it and really injected a fresh element. Overall, this is a simple salad to prepare and one that’s worthy of your time.
Ingredients
Serves: 4-6
3 Large Sweet Potatoes, Cubed
1 Large Red Onion, Diced
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
1 Cup Uncooked Quinoa
1/2 Cup Dried Cherries or Cranberries
1/4 Cup Pepitas
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley, Chopped
2 Ounces Goat Cheese
4 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Joyful Healthy Eats for this recipe. It’s straightforward and very tasty. I’m looking forward to following more of this author’s recipes in the future.
Pre-Heat Oven
Arrange your oven racks so one of them is in the center position. Then, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Roast the Sweet Potato & the Onion
Prep the sweet potato and onion by cutting them up and adding them to large bowls. Then, add about one tablespoon of olive oil to each bowl, along with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Toss both to coat with the oil.
After that, place the vegetables on a large baking sheet. They don’t need to be divided like I have them in the photo below. Everything is going to get mixed later on anyway. I just did that for effect.
Place the baking sheet in the oven for 25-30 minutes. When the vegetables have softened nicely, pull the tray out and turn off the heat.
Cook the Quinoa
Add two cups of water to a medium sized saucepan and bring that water to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling, add the dry quinoa to the pot, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook the quinoa for 15 minutes. When it’s finished, turn off the heat, uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow the finished product to cool for 15 minutes.
Prepare the Vinaigrette
In a medium sized bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, four tablespoons olive oil, a few pinches of salt and pepper, the maple syrup and cinnamon.
Whisk these ingredients together well.
Combine Ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the potato, onion, quinoa, dried cherries, pepitas, parsley and goat cheese.
After that, add the vinaigrette and mix all the ingredients together well.
Plate & Serve
Divide the salad between plates and serve. Enjoy!
The Final Sweet Potato & Quinoa Salad
I have lots of leftovers of this salad, so I’m looking forward to it again tonight. I add it right on top of my normal nightly salad. It adds some flair. If you decide to give this recipe a try, please let me know your thoughts down below in the comment section. Thanks for reading!
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